
Book 



/ 



WA/? ^ 

THE f \t,T^ je. 



.^^^ \ 



historW %^^^-^<^^ 

OF \^v V ^ , ^^ 

THE W^ ^ 

BETWEEN THE "^ 

irmTEB STSTES AJ^D GBEAT-BHITAIX, 

■WHICH COMMENCED IN JONE, 1812, AND CLOSED IN FEB. 1815 ; 

CONTAINING 
THE CORRESPONDENCE WHICH PASSED BETWEEN 
THE TWO GOVERNMENTS, IMMEDIATELY PRE- 
CEDING, AND SINCE HOSTILITIES COMMENC- 
ED ; THE DECLARATION OP WAR, AND 
THE OFFICIAL REPORTS OF LAND 
AND NAVAL ENGAGEMENTS. 

COMPILED OHIEKliY FR(>M 

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



APPENDIX, 



CONTAINING 

THE CORUESPONDENCB WHICH PASSED BETWEEN OUR COMMISSION- 
ERS, AND THOSE APPOINTED BY GREAT-BRITAIN, IN TBEATING FOR 

PEACE. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

THE TREATY OF PEACE, 

AND A LIST OF VESSELS TAKEN FROM G. BRITAIN 
DURING THE WAR. 



HARTFORD : 
PUBLISHED BY WILLFAM S. MARSH 



1815. 
B, ^' J, Rii^sell, Printer?, 






District of Conrtecticut, ss, 

luSy ^^^^' tlEJMEMBERFD. Thai on the 
yc.vi^^T^ tenth day of July y in the Forlietii yea) of 
the Jndepencltnce of the ilniV^d (States of imet ,ca, 
B. Sf J. Russell^oj the sa'id District, deposited in this 
office the title of a Hook, the riyht whereof they claim 
as Proprietors, in the words foUorviny, to wit, 

* The History of the ^^ ar, between the Unded Slater, 
^ and Great Brdain, which commenced in J une^ 1812, 
' and closed in Feb 18 lo, conlaminy the correspondence 
- which passed between the two Governments immedi- 
« ately pi ecedmy and since hostilities comnu need ; the 
' declaration oj War, and the ojjicial reports 'j land 

* and novcd engagements^ comjyiled cldejiy fr,m public 

* documeiits. \\ Uh an appendix, containing the r.nr- 
*respondence which passed between our Cotnniissioners 

* and those appointed l)y (jrtat Britain, in treating for 

* peace. Tonhich :s added the Treaty of Peace, and 

* a list of vessels taken from Great Britain during 
^ the War. Compiled by J. RLSSELL, Jr.' 

In conf.rmity to the act of the Congress oJ the Uni-- 
ted States, enitiled,." An act for tlie encouragement of 
^■^ learning, by securing the copies ojAiajjs, Charts, and 
" Boohs, to the autiiors and proprietors of such copies, 
** during the times therein mentianed.'' 

HLMiY W. EDWAUDS. 
Clerk oj tlie District of Connecticnl. 
A true ropy of lievord, examined and sealed by me, 
H. \y. Edwards, 

Clem of the District of Connecticut 

By tranatei 




TNT 



AN history of recent transa7tlTTn?J7n'>"*'t always 
be executed under many, and great disadvantages. 

In a time of war, mart)' imporlant occurrences are 
butiini'erfecll) known, till llic Irutli is elicited h\ It-g-ai 
investigation ; and, in addition to this, t]*e feelinos of 
men are so ardent, that an author cannol be expected 
to be wholly impartial, \vh< n recountinij;' those events, 
in which himself, or his friends, have acted a conspi- 
cuous part. 

The publishers were, therefore, of opinion, that al 
the present time, the most useful History of the War, 
would be a faithful collection of Officii^l State Papers, 
and accounts of Military operations, ^'uch a work 
cannot be taxed with paitialit} ; and, it is presumed, 
will be perused with intercsl by every Am(rica"n, who 
values his national rights, and whose bosom glows, at 
the recital of those deeds of valor, which have exalt- 
ed the honor of his country. 

If, in some instances. Commanding' Officers liave 
seemed to manifest a want of candor, it ought slill to 
be remembered by the public, that they wrote in the 
heat of the occasion ; and, often, while agoiuzing U!\- 
der wounds received trom an exasperated enemy. 
Modern Histories of Campaigns, are not, to say the 
least, more candid, and are, surely, less entitled to 
apology. This collection of Documents can never 
become a useless volume ; for, besides lurnishing the 
best evidence of fact to the inquisitive reader, and fu- 
ture historian, it is a ready mannel, by which every en- 
quirer after truth, can at once adduce the best evidence 
on questions which affect the character of the Ameri- 
can nation, relative to her military prowess. Our 
readers will feel satisfied, after its perusal, that they 
possess all the Official information, which can be ob- 
tained, relative to the mihtary movements, and bra- 



3V INTRODUCTION, 

very and skill of our countrymen in the field of baltle. 
Perhaps, in some instances, the losses and sufferino-& 
of the armies of both nations, have not been fully as- 
certained ; so wide is the tield, that it is somewhat 
difficult to collect all the facts. On the water, where 
■we have been peculiarly successful, the official ac- 
counts more fully and explicitly state the loss, as well 
as the comparative skdl and, bravery of the contend- 
ing parties. 

In the list of public and private vessels taken from 
the enemy during the war, we have not given the 
whole number of men and guns, on board of a laro-e 
proportion of the merchant vessels, as it was never 
officially stated. In every instance of this kind, 
•where we could not obtain correct information, we 
Lave left the number blank. We are sorry to say it is 
wholly out of our power to accompany the list of 
prizes with a correct list of the vessels we have lost i 
the enemy never having made a public statement 
of their prizes, we could not collect them from any 
authentic source. 



CHAPTER 1. 

Page. 

President's Message, 9 
Messrs. Monroe and Foster's Official Letters, relating to the 
.^ Orders in Council, Blockades, and Impressment of Seamen, 

1 6. 2b, 26. 27, SO, 43, 52, 63, 60 

Adjustment of the affair of the Chesapeake Frigate, 66 
Monroe and Foster's Letters relating to the Ch«^sapeake affair, 

67,68,69 70 

" " relating to the Berlin and IVLIan Decrees, 7i, 82 



CHAPTER II. 

President's Message, 75 

Monroe and Foster's Letters relating to the Non-Importation 
Act, 76/80 

CHAPTER III. 

The President's Manifesto, 85 

Report of the committee on Foreign Relations, 94f 

Declaration of War, 109 

Yeas, and Nays, on the Declaration of War, in the Senate, and 

House of Representatives, ibid. 

Promulgation of the Declaration of War, 111 

CHAPTER ly. 

The 6rst Prisoner, 1 12 

The first Prize, 113 

Monroe and Foster's Letters, relating to the Orders in Council, 

and Berlin and Milan Decrees, 113,117, 119 

president's Message, 122 

Mr. Russell and Lord Castlereagh's Letters relating to the 

Orders in Council, 122, 123 

Order in Council, 131 

Loss of Gen. Hull's baggage, 133 

Hull's Proclamation, to the Canadians^ ibid. 

Skirmishing, near Sandwich, 135 



VI CONTENTS. 

Cinat'itn Mifitia joio G^n. Hull, 13^ 

Capt HalI'>.TictorT, ibid. 

Orders in Council Revoked, j38 

Gen Hall's Statenient of his Sotrender, 141 

Vauhonj'? Defeat, 143 

Battle at the river Rakin, I5q 
Articles of capitulati. d of HnFl's army, and Michigan Territory, 1 53 
Colooeh Cas5. M'Arthur. Findley and Miller remonstrate 

aeainst Gen HulTs conduct, 154 
Gen Br^K-k's Proclamation, to the Inhabitants of Michiaian 

Terrifory. ^ 16i 
A card frum Cnl. Svmmes to Gen. Brock, 1 62 
Capt Porter'. Virtory. ibid, 
" '' Letter, 163 
D*r««ee of Fort Harrison. jg:^ 
Majors Jessup and Taylors' cofroboratiou of Col. Cass' state- 
ment, , go 
SkirmishiBg at St. John's river. ibid 

" " at Cananoque and Otdensbars, 169 

Affair at St Regis, ^ j.q 

CJaj»L Eltior's victory, s^. 

Evaruat!0o of Fort Chicaco. 274 

C .m Chaancey's battle in Kingston harbor, 177 

Battle of Queenston, j -^^ 

CHAPTER V. 

Monroe, Graham, Russell, and Castlereagb's Letters, 

la xf ^ e- , » ,^ ^^^' '^^- '^'' *^5' 1»S,200 20i 

Mr Monroe and Sir J. B Warren's Correspondence, 202. 204 

Bntish Challange, and American Acceptance, ' 208 

CHAPTER VI. 

Capt. Jones' Victory and Captare, 209 

Com. Decatur's Victory, 2ii 

Com Bainbriilge's Victory, 2i2 

Capt, Lawrence's Victory, ^27 

CHAPTER YII. 

^^^J"^ ?"'" 7l!^l 220, 223, 225 

Gen. \\ mchester's Defeat, 226 

Blaseacre of Winchesters Army, 229 
Indian Expedition, 



231 
« ^ - ' 232 

C^ Forsyth's E5pediU0D,_ 283. 



Gen. Smyth's Expedition, 232 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Uamsoo's Battle at Lower Sacduskj, 2S3 ; 

CaiMore of Fort George, 2:j7. 

Capture of Fort Erie, jj 

Com Cbauocey's Letter to the Secretary of the Navy cod- 

Teyiog tbe BriiUh Siaodanl, taken at York, j 

Battle at forty mile rreek, 
Attsick on J?ackeft's Harbor. 
Naval Expedition fr-^m Sackett's Harbor, 
Maj>r Cruzban's Victory, 
Li'ss of the Frigate Che>ap^ake, 
Capture of Litrie York, tbe second time. 
Borning of S.>du5, i 

Ats^k on Crar^ty Island, j 

Capture of Hampton, 250 

Murder of John B Graves, 

Skinni.ihiDg at Fort George, ibid. 

Destruction of Indian tOKie, 253 

A Yankee Tnck. y^^ 

CapL Burrows' Victory, 4^54 

CHAPTER IX. 

Peny 's Victory, 255, 256, 257 

Capture of the Dominico, 259 

Capture of Maiden, jj^^ 

Gen Harri?ori*5 Victory. 2€0 

Fruits of Harrison's Virtory, 2*^7 

Tecumseh's Speech to G«n. Proctor, ib.J. 

Com. Cbauocey's Victory-. 2^3 

Something Sinjular 2~0 

Com. Rogers' cruise, j^;^ 

Col Clarke's Expedition, 271 

Matsacrp at Fort Teasair, ^^ 

Harrison and Perry's Proclamation, 274 

Wilkinson and Hampton's Expedition, 275 

CHAPTER X. 

Gens. Jackson, WhHe, and Coffee's Victories, over tbe Creek 

^ '"^^Sr-^ ^ ^^' ^"' 278, 2a0, 264, 288 

tr^c Hordes Victnry, 281 28S 

CJen. Claiborne's Victory * 2S2 

CHAPTER XI 

Capt. Porter's crntse, 2S0 

L. r> of Fort Niagara, 292 

Burning of Bufikio, and Black Rock, 293 



"^iii CONTENTS. 

Capt. Holmes* Victory, 

Battle at Stonoy Creek, # ^^^ 

Capt. Warriuat-m's Victory, .^?^ 

Loss of tbe Essex frigate, *'"**• 

Capture of Oswego, ^^^ 

Gen. Brown's Victories, „^, ^?2 

' 304, 306 

CHAPTER XII. 

Capitulation of Alexandria, 

Capture of Washington City, «,„ ^"® 

Com. Macdonough's Victory, ^ia ?!? 

Burning of Petfipauge, J14, 315 

Attack on Stonington, ^*^ 

Gen Gains' Victory, .f.|? 

Attack on Baltimore, *°"'- 

Attack on Fort Bowyer, ^^* 

Gen. Brown's Victory, .??* 

Gen Macomb's Victory, '°'°' 

Capt Blakeley's Victory, ^^^ 

Destruction of the Avon, ^^* 

Expedition from Detroit. ^^^ 

' 330 

CHAPTER XIIL 

Capture of Pensacola, 

Gen Jackson's Victories at New Orleans, 333 of! 

L.eu Shield's Expedition from New-Orleans, ' 3^ 

L.eut. Johnson's Exr>edition from New-Orleans, ^# 

Gen. Jackson's A-ldres. to his army, ' .f?J 

Capture of the frijiate President, ZT,' 

Capt Boyle's Viatory, ^^^ 

Capt. Mickler's Victory, ^** 

Gun Boat No. 168, and'the Erebus frigate, o*^ 

Capt. Stewart's Victory, ' ^*^ 

•^' 349 

APPENDIX. 

Correspondence, which passed between the Commissioners of 

Secretary of State, 350, ^68, 359. 064, 367. 374, 

Treaty of Peace, ' '''^' ^''' *^'' ^^*' ^'^' ^^l, 422 

Li.r of Ve.sscis taken during the War, 
Capt. Biddle's Victory, 



424. 
435 
463 



HISTORY 



OP 



THE WAR. 



CHAPTER I. 
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE. 

WASHINGTON CITY, Tuesday, November 5, lail. 

The President of the United Stales this day commu- 
nicated by 31r. Edward Coles, his private secre- 
iary, the foUowiny Message to Conyress — 

Fellon'-Cilizcns of the Senate, and of 

the House of Representatives, 

IN calling" yon together sooner than a separation 
from your homes would otherwise have been required, 
1 yielded to considerations drawn from the posture of 
our foreign affairs ; and in fixing the present for tlie 
time of your meeting, regard was had to the probabil- 
ity of further developements of the policy of the bej- 
ligerent powers towards this country, which might the 
more unite the national councils, m the measures to 
be pursued. 

At the close of the last session of Congress, it was 
hoped that the successive confirmations of the extinc- 
rion of the Frencli Decrees, so far as they violated 
our neutral commerce, wgnld have induced the gov- 
ernment of Great-Britiiin to repeal its Orders in 
Council ; and thei*eby authorise a removal of the ex- 
isting obstructions to her commerce with the United 
States. 

Instead of this reasonable step towards satisfaction 
and friendship between ihe two nations, the Orders 
were at a moment when least to havp been expected, 

2 



10 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

put into nioie vigorous execution ; and it was com- 
municated through the British Envoy just arrived, 
that whilst the revocation of tlic Edicts of France, as 
officially made known to the British government, 
was denied to have taken place ; it was an indispen- 
sable condition of the repeal of the British Orders, 
that commerce should be restored to a footing, that 
would admit the produi^tions and manufactures of 
Great-Britain, when owned by neutrals, into markets 
shut against them by her enemy ; the United States 
being given to understand that, in the mean time, a 
continuance of their non-impurtation act would lead 
to measujes of retaliation. 

At a later date, it has indeed appeared, that a 
communication to the British govermnent, of fresh 
evidence of the repeal of the French Decrees against 
our neutral trade, was followed by an inlimation, that 
it had been transmitted to the Bi itish Plenipotentiary 
here ; in order that it mio lit receive full consideration 
in the depending discussions. This connnunication 
appears not to have been received ; but the transmis- 
sion of it hither, instead of founding on it an actual 
repeal of the Orders, or assurances that the repeal 
would ensue, will not permit us to rely on any elect- 
ive change in the British cabinet. To be ready to 
meet with cordiality satisfactory proofs of such a 
change, and to proceed, in the mean time, in adapt- 
ing our measures to the views which have been dis- 
closed through that minister, will best consult our 
whole duty. 

In the unfriendly spirit of those disclosures, ind*^r.!- 
nity and redress for other wrongs have continu.^d to 
be withheld, and our coasts and the mouths of out- 
harbors have again witnessed scenes, not less dcroo- 
alory to the dearest of our national rights, than vexa- 
tions lo \]}c regular course of our trade. 

Among the occurrences produced by the conduct 
of British ships of war hovering on our coasis, wa** 
an encounter between one of them and the American 
frigate eomniiindrd !»y Captain Boo-pis. nr.dired 



HISTORY OF THE \S A.R. 11 

unavoitlabie on the part of the kilter, by a fire com- 
menced without cause by the former; whose com- 
mander is therefore, alone charii'eable with the blood 

.... 

unfortunately shed in nuiinlaininu;' the honor of the 
American tlai^f. Tlie proceedings of a court of en- 
quiry, requested l)y Captain Kot;ers, are communicat- 
ed ; togetlier with the correspondence relating- to tlie 
occurrence, be tween the Secretary of State, and his 
Britannic Majesty's Knvoy. To thes(; are added, 
the several correspondences which ]ia\e passed on 
the subjeti*; of the British Orders in Council ; and to 
both the corres|)ondencc relating to the Floridas, in 
which Congress will be made acquainted with the 
interpositi(Mi which the government of Great-Britain 
has tliouiiht proper to make against the proceedings 
of the United States, 

The justice, and fairness which have been evinced 
on the part of the United States towards France, both 
before and since the revocation of her Decrees, 
authorised an expectation tliat her government w ould 
have followed up that measure by all such others as 
were due to our reasonable claims as well as dictat- 
ed by its amicable professions. IS'o proof, however, 
is yet given of an intention to repair the oUicr w rongs 
done to the United Slates : and |)«rlicularly to re- 
store the great amount of American projierty seized 
and condemned under Edicts, which, though not af- 
fecting our neutral relations, and tiierefore, not ( iiter- 
ing into (piestions between the United States and oth- 
er belligerents, were nevertheless founded in such un- 
just principles, that the reparation ought to have been 
prompt and ample. 

In addition to this, and other demands of strict 
right, on that nation; the United States have much 
reason to be dissatisfied with the rioorous and unex- 
pected restrictions, to wliich their trade with the 
French dominions hasf been subjected : and which, if 
not discontinued, will require at least corresj)oriding 
restrictions on importations from France into the 
United Stales. 



12 HISTORY OF THE M'All. 

On all those subjects our Minister Plenipotentiary, 
lately sent to Paris, has carried with hnxx the neces- 
sary instructions ; the result of which will be commu- 
rjicated to you, and by ascertaining- the ulterior policy 
of the French government towards the United States, 
will enable you to adapt to it that of the United States 
towards France. 

Our other foreign relations remjiin without unfa- 
vorable changes. With Russia they are on the bef>t 
footing of friendship. The ports of Sweden have 
afforded proofs of friendly dispositions towards our 
commerce, in the councils of that nation also. And 
the information from our special Minister to Denmark, 
shews that the mission had been attended with valua- 
ble effects to our citizeiis, whose property had been 
so extCTi<3:\ely violated and endangered by cruisers 
under the Danish flag. 

Under the ominous indications which commanded 
attention, it became a duty, to exert the means com- 
mitted to the Executive Departme^it, in providing for 
the general security. The works of deience on our 
maritime frontier have accordingly been prosecuted, 
with af) activity leaving little to be added for the com- 
pletion of the most important ones ; and as particu- 
larly suited for co-operation in emergencies, a portion of 
the Gnu'-Boatshave, in particular harbours, been order- 
ed into use. The Ships of war before in commission, 
with the addition of a Frigate, have been chiefly em- 
ployed, as a cruising guard to the rights of our coast. 
And such a disposition has been made of our land 
forces, as was ihouglit to promise the services most 
appropriate and important. In this disposition is in- 
cluded a force, consisting of regulars and militin, em- 
bodied in the Indiana Territory, and marched towards 
our North Western frontier. — This measure was 
^nade requisite by several mm'ders and depredations 
conmiitlod by Indians ; but more especially by the 
Dienacing preparations and aspect of a combmalion of 
them on the Wabash under the influence and direc- 
tion of a fanatic of the Shawanese tribe. Wkhtbes^ 



HISTORY or THE WAR. 1^ 

exceptions the Indian tril>€s retain their peaceable dis- 
positions towards us, and tlicir usual pursuits 

I must now add, that tlie period is arrived which 
ckims from the Legislative Guardians ot the National 
ri«''hts a system ot niore ample provisions tor maintain- 
ii^o- them. Notwithstanding the scrupulous justice, 
th? protracted moderation, and the multiplied eftorts 
on the part of the United States, to substitute tor the 
accuimilating dangers to the peace of the two coun- 
tries, all the mutual advantages of re-est.;blished 
friendship and confidence; we have seen that the 
British Cabinet perseveres not only in withholding a 
remedy for other wrongs so long and so loudly caUing 
for it r"but in the execution brought home to the thresli- 
hold of our Territorv, of measures which under 
existing circumstances", have the character, as well as 
the effect of war on our lawful conuuerce. 

With this evidence of hostile inflexibility, mtramp- 
Invr on rights which no independent nation can re- 
linquish, Congress will feel the duty of putting the 
United States into an armor, and an attitude de- 
manded by the crisis, and corresponding with the 
national spirit and expectations. 

I recommend accordingly, that adecpiale provision 
be made for filling the ranks and prolonging the eii- 
listiuenls of the regular troops : for an auxihary torce, 
to be engaged for a more limited term ; tor the ac- 
ceptance of volunteer corps, whose patriotic ardor 
may court a participation in urgent services ; for 
detachments, as they may be wanted, of other por- 
tions of the militia ; and for such a preparation ot the 
great body, as will proportion its usefulness to its in* 
Uinsic capacities. Nor can the occasion fail to remmd 
you of the importance of those military Seminaries, 
which, in every event, will form a valuable and frugal 
part of our military establishment. 

The manufacture of cannon and small arms has 
proceeded with due success, and the s^tock and re- 
sources of all the necessary munitions are adequate to 
emergencies. It will not be inexpedient, however, 
for Conro-ess to authorize an enlargement of them. 



14 illSTOKV OF THE \V AR. 

Your altention will of course be tliawji to sucb 
provisions, on the subject of our naval force, as may 
be required for tbe services to wliirh it may be best 
adapted. I submit to C'>ng^ress the seasonableiiess 
tilso, of an aulliority to augment the stock of such ma- 
terials, as are imperishable m their nature, or may not 
at once be attainable. 

Ju contemplating the scenes wliich disting-uish this 
momentous epoch, and estimating' their claims to our 
attention, it is impossible to overlook those tleveloping 
themselves among' the great communit.es which oc- 
cupy tlie southern portion of our own hemisphere, and 
extend iiito our neighbourhood. An enla^'ged philaLi- 
ilu'opy, and an enlig-htened forecast, concur in impos- 
ing on the National Councils an obligation to take a 
deep interest in their destinies : to cherish reciprocal 
sentiments of good will ; to regard the progress of 
events ; and not to be unprepared for whatever order 
of things may be ultimately established. 

Under another aspect of oiu* situation, the early at- 
tention of Congress w ill be due to the expediency of 
further guards against evasions arid infractions of our 
commercial laws. The pi-acticc of smuggling, which 
is odious c\ciy where, and particularly criminal in 
free governments, where, the laws being made by all, 
for the good of all, a fraud is committed on every in- 
dividual as well as on the state, attains its utmost guilt, 
when it blends, with a pursuit of ignomii»ious gain, 
a treacherous subservijency in the transgressors, to a 
foreign policy, adverse to that of their own country. 
It is then that the virtuous indignation of the public 
should be enabled to njanihst itself, through die regu- 
lar animadversions of the nu>st competent laws. 

To secure greater respect to our mercantile flag, 
and to the lionest interest which it covers, it is ex- 
[*t;di«nt also, that it be made punishable in ourcitizens, 
to accept licences from foreign govenmients, for a 
trade mdawfully interdicted by them to other Ameri- 
can citizens ; oj* to irade under fabe colours or papers 
<»1 auv soli. 



tllbTORY OF THE WAR. 1-3 

A piohibilion is equally called for, against the ac- 
ceptance, l>y ©ur citizens of special licences, to be 
used in a trade with the United States; and ao^anist. 
the admission into particular ports of the Unifed 
States, of ^essels from foreign countries, aulhorized to 
trade with particular ports only. 

Although other sul»jects w ill |iress more iiiimedi- 
'ately on your deliberations, a poriion of them cannot 
but be well bestowed, on the just and sound policy of 
securing- to our nuinufactures the success they have 
attained, and nre still attaining-, in some degree, undev 
the im[)ulse of causes not permanent; and to ournavi- 
g^ation, the iair extent of which it isat pn.sent abridg- 
ed by the uuecpud regnlalions of foreign govern- 
merits. 

Besides the reasonableness of saving* our manufac- 
turers from sacrifices which a change of circumstan- 
ces mig'ht bring on them, the nalional interest requires, 
that, with respect to such articles at least as belong' lo 
our delence, and our primary wants, we should not be 
left in unnecessary dependence on external supplies. 
And whiLst foreign governments adhere to the existing- 
discriminations m their ports against our navigation, 
and an equality or lesser discrinunalion is enjoyed by 
their navigation in our ports, the eftcct cannot Uf. 
mistaken, beciiuse it has been seriously felt by our 
shipping interests ; anel in proportion as this lakes 
place, the advantages of an indej)endent conveyance of 
our products to foreign markets, and of a growing* 
hotly of mariners, trained by their occupations for the 
service of their country in limes of danger, nuist be 
diminished. 

I'he receipts into the Treasury, during the year, cn- 
diiig on the thirtieth of September last, have exceeded 
thirteen millions and a half of dollars, and have ena- 
bled us to defray the current expences, including tjie 
interest o)i the public debt and to reimburse more than 
live millions of dollars of the principal, withoiit reciir- 
fing to the loan authorized by Ihe act of the last Ses- 
sion. The temporary loan obtained in the latter end 
<^f the year one thousand eight hundred and ten, has 



16 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

also been reimbursed, and is not included in th^ 
amount. 

The decrease of revenue, arising- from the situation of 
our commerce and the extraordinary expences which 
have and may become necessary, must be taken into 
view, in making- commensurate provisions for the 
ensuing year. And I recommend to your considera- 
tion the propriety of ensuring a sufficiency of aimual 
revenue, at least to defray the ordinary expences of 
government, and to pay the interest on the public debt, 
including that on new loans which may be authorized. 

[ cannot close this communication without expres- 
sing my deep sense of the crisis in which you are as- 
sembled ; my confidence in a wise and honourable 
result to your deliberations, and assurances of the 
faithful zeal with which my co-operating duties will 
be discharged ; invoking at the same time, the bles- 
sing of heaven on our beloved country, and on all the 
means, that may be employed in vindicating its rights, 
and advancing its welfare. 

(Signed) 

JAMES MADISON, 

Washmcfionf Novembers, 1811. 



OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE, 

Laid before Congress^ on Tuesday ^ November 6- 

ORDERS IN COUNCIL. 

MR. FOSTER TO MR. MONROE. 

WASHINGTON, July 3, 1811 

SIR, 

1 have had the honour of stating- to vou ver- 
bally the system of defence to which his majesty ha*^ 
been compelled to resort for the purpose of protectini^- 
the maritime rights and interests othis dominions 
against the new description of warfare that has been 
adopted by his enemies. I have presented to you 
Ihe grounds upon which hU Majesty finds himsell'stUh 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 17 

oblit^ed to rontinue that system, and I conceive that 
I shall best meet your wishes as expressed to me this 
morning, if in a more formal shape I should 1. y be- 
fore you the whole extent of the question, as it appears 
to his Majesty's government to exist between Great- 
Britain and America. 

1 beg leave to call your attention, sir, to the princi- 
j)les on which his Majesty's Orders in Council were 
originally founded. The Decree of Berlin was direct- 
ly and expressly an act of war, by which France pro- 
hibited all nations from trade or intercourse with 
fireat-Britain under peril of confiscation of their 
ships and merchandise ; although Fiance had not the 
means of imposing an actual blockade in any degree 
adequate to such a purpose. The immediate and 
professed object of this hostile Decree was the destruc- 
tion of all British commerce through means entirely 
unsanctioned by the law of nations, and unauthorised 
by any received doctrine of legitimate blockade. 

This violation of the established law of civilized 
nations in war, would have justified Great-Britain in 
retaliating upon the enemy by a similar interdiction 
of all commerce with France, and with such other 
countries as might co-operate with France in her sys- 
tem of commercial hostility against Great-Britain. 

The object of Great-Britain was not, however, the 
destruction of trade, but its preservation under such 
regulations as might be compatible with her own se- 
curity, at the same time that she extended an indul- 
gence to foreign commerce, which strict principles 
would have entitled her to withhold. The retaliation 
of Great-Britain was not therefore urged to the full 
extent of her right ; our prohibition of French trade 
was not absolute, but modified ; and in return for the 
absolute prohibition of all trade with Great-Britain, 
we prohibited not all commerce with France, but all 
such commerce with France as should not be carried 
on through Great-Britain. 

It was evident that this system must prove prejudi- 
cial to neutral nations ; this calamity was foreseen, 

3 



18 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

and deeply regTctted. But the injury to the neutral 
nation arose from the aggression of France, which 
had compelled Great-Britain in her own defence to 
resort to adequate retaliatory measures of war. The 
operation on the American commerce of those pre- 
cautions, which the conduct of France had rendered 
indispensable to our security, is therefore to be ascrib- 
ed to the unwarrantable aggression of France, and 
not to those proceedings on the part of Great-Britain, 
which that aggression had rendered necessary and 
just. 

The object of our system was merely to counteract 
an attempt to crush the British trade ; Great-Britain 
endeavored to permit the continent to receive as large 
a portion of commerce as might be practicable, 
through Great-Britain ; and all her subsequent regu- 
lations, and every modification of her system by new 
orders or modes of granting or withholding licences, 
have been calculated for the purpose of encourag-ing- 
the trade of neutrals through Great-Britain, whenever 
such encouragement might appear advantageous to 
the general interests of commerce, and consistent 
with the public safety of the nation. The justifica- 
tion of his Majesty's Orders in Council, and the con- 
tinuance of that defence, have always been rested up- 
on the existence of the Decrees of Berlin and Milan, 
and on the perseverance of the enemy in the system 
of hostility which has subverted the rights of neutral 
commerce on the continent; and it has always been 
declared on the part of his Majesty's government, 
that whenever France should have effectually repeal- 
ed the Decrees of Berlin and Milan, and should have 
restored neutral commerce to the condition in which 
it stood previously to the promulgation of those De- 
crees, we frhould immediately repeal our Orders in 
Council. 

France has asserted that the Decree of Berlin was 
a measure of just retaliation on her part, occasioned 
by our previous aggression ; and the French govern- 
tuent has insisted that om* system of blockade, as it 



inSTORY OF THE WAK. 19 

existed previously to ihe Decree of Berlin, was a 
manifest violation of the rt ceived law of nations ; 
we must therefore, sir. refer to the articles of tlie Ber- 
lin Decree, to find the principles of our system of 
blockade, which France considers to be new, and 
contrary to the law of nations. 

By the 4th and 8th articles it is stated as a justifi- 
cation of the French Decree, that Great-Britain 
'extends to unfortified towns and commercial ports, 
to harbors, and to the mouths of rivers, those rights 
of blockade, which bv the reason and the usage of 
nations, are applicable only to forlihcd places; and 
thai ihe rights of blockade ought to be limited to for- 
tresses really invested by a sufficient force.' 

It is added in the same articles that Great-Britain 
* lias declared places to l)e in a state of blockade, 
before which she has not a single ship of war, and 
even pli:\ces which the whole British force would be 
insufficient to blockade ; entire coasts, and a whole 
empire.' 

Neither the practice of Great-Britain, nor the law 
of nations, has ever sanctioned the rule now laid down 
by France, that no place excepting fortresses in a 
complete state of investiture, can be deemed lawfully 
blockaded by sea. 

If such a rule were to be admitted, it would be- 
come nearly impracticable for Gre^it-Britain to at- 
tenijit the blockade of any port of the continent, and 
our submi.ssion to this perversion of the law of na- 
tions, while it would destrov one of the principal ad- 
vantages of our naval superiority, would sacrifice the 
common rights and interests of all maritmie states. 

It was evident that the blockade of 31 ay, 180G, 
wa.s the principal pretended jusitication of the De- 
cree of Berlin, though neither the principles on which 
that blockade was founded, nor its practical opera- 
tion, atlorded any color for the proceedings of 
France. 

In point of date, the blockade of May, 1806, pre- 
ceded the Beriin Decree ; but it was a just and legal 



20 HISTORY or THE AVAR. 

blockade according- to the established law of nations, 
because it was inlended to be maintained, and was. 
actually maintained by an adequate force appointed 
to guard the whole coast described in the notihcation, 
and consequently to enforce the blockade. 

Great-Britain has never attempted to dispute, that 
in the ordinary course of the law of nations, no block- 
ade can be justifiable or valid unless it be supported 
by an adequate force destined to maintain it, and to 
expose to hazard all vessels attempting- to evade its 
operation. The blockade of May, 1 806, was notified 
by Mr. Secretary Fox, on this clear principle, nor 
was that blockade announced until he had satisfied 
himself by a communication with his Majesty'^s Board 
of Admiralty, that the Admiralty possessed the means 
and would employ them, of watching the whole coast 
from Brest to the Elbe, and of eft'ectually enforcing 
the blockade. 

The blockade of May, 1806, was therefore (ac- 
cording to the doctrine maintained by Great-Britain) 
just and lawful in its origin, because it was supported 
by both in intention and fact by an adequate naval 
force. This M'as the justification of that blockade, 
until the period of time when the Orders in Council 
were issued. 

The Orders in Council were founded on a distinct 
principle, that of defensive retaliation. France had 
declared a blockade of all the ports and coasts of 
Great- Britain, and her dependencies, without assign- 
ing, or being able to assign, any force to support that 
blockade. Such an act of the enemy would have 
justified a declaration of the blockade of the whole 
coast of France, even without the application of any 
particular force to that service. Since the promulga- 
tion of the Orders in Council, the blockade of May, 
1806, has been sustained and extended by the more 
comprehensive system of defensive retaliation on 
which those regulations are founded. But it the Or- 
ders in Council should be abrogated, tlie blockade of 
May, 1806, could not continue under our construe^ 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 21 

tion of the law of nations, unless that blockade should 
be maintained by a due application of an adequate 
naval force. 

America appears to concur with France in assert- 
ing that Great-Britain was the original aggressor in 
the attack on neutral riglits, and has particularly ob- 
jected to the blockade of May, 1806, as an obvious 
instance of that aggression on the part of Gieat- 
Britain. 

Although the doctrines of the Berlin Decree, res- 
pecting the rights ot blockade, are not directly assert- 
ed by the American government, Mr. Pinckney's 
correspondence would appear to countenance the 
principles on which those <loctrines are founded. The 
objection directly stated by America against the 
blockade of May, 1806, rests on a supposition that no 
naval force which Great-Britain possessed, or could 
have employed for such a purpose, could have render- 
ed that blockade effectual and that therefore it was 
necessarily irregular, and could not possibly be main- 
tained in conformity to the law of nations. 

Reviewing the course of this statement, it will ap- 
pear that the blockade of May, 1806, cannot be 
deemed contrary to the law of nations, either under 
the objections urged by the French, or under thoso 
declared or insinuated by the American governmdnt, 
because that blockade was mainUiined by a sufficieni 
naval force ; that the Decree of Berlin was not the(^~ 
fore justified either under the pretext alledged bv 
France, or under those supported by America ; that 
the Orders in Council were founded on a just principlo 
of defensive retaliation against the violation of the law 
of nations committed b-, France in the Decree of 
Berlin ; that the blockade of May, 1806, is now in- 
cluded in the more extensive operation of the Orders 
in Council ; and lastly, that the Orders in Council 
will not be continued beyond the effectual duration of 
the hostile Decrees of France, nor will the blockade 
ot May, 1806, continue after the repeal of the Orders 
in Council, unless His Majesty's government shall 



22 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

think fit to sustain it by the special application of a 
sufficient nerval force. This fact will not be suffered 
to remain in doubt, and if the repeal of the Orders in 
Council should take place, the intention of His IVlajes- 
ty'sg;overnment respecting- the blockade of May, 1806, 
will be notiiied at the same time. 

I need not recapitulate to you the sentiments of 
His IMajesty's oovernment, so often repeated, on the 
subject of the French Minister's Note to General 
Armstrong-, dated the (3th of last August. The studi- 
ed ambiguity of that note has since been amply ex- 
plained by the conduct and language of the govern- 
ment of France, of which one of the most remarkable 
instances is to be found in the speech of the chief of 
the French government on the 17th of last month to 
certain deputies from the free cities of Hamburgh, 
Bremen, and Lubeck, w l;eiein he declares that the 
Berlin and Milan Decrees shall be the public code of 
France as long as England maintains her Orders in 
Council of 1806, and 1807. Thus pronouncings as 
plainly as lang-uage will admit, that the system of vio- 
lence and injustice of which he is the founder, will be 
maintained by him until the defensive measures of re- 
taliation to which they gave rise on the part of Great- 
Britain shall be abandoned. 

If other proofs w ere necessary to show the continu- 
ed existence of those obnoxious Decrees, they may 
be discovered in the Imperial Edict dated at Fontam- 
bleau, October 19, 1810 ; that monstrous production 
of violence, in which they are made the basis of a sys- 
tem of general and unexampled tyranny and Oj)pression 
over all countries subject to, allied with, or within the 
reach of the power of France ; in the report of the 
French minister for foreign affairs dated last Decem- 
ber, and in the letter of the French minister of justice 
to the president of the council of prizes. To this 
latter, sir, 1 would wish particularly to invite youratten- 
tioii ; the date is the 'iolh December, the authority it 
comes from most unquestionable, and you will there 
find, sir, the Dukeof Massa, in giving his instructions 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 23 

to the council ot prizes in consequence of the President 
of the United States' proclamation of iNovember 3, 
most cautiously avoiding to assert that the French De- 
crees were repealed, and ascribing^ not to such repeal, 
but to the ambii^uous passage uhich he quotes at 
length from M. Champagny's letter of August 5, the 
new attitude taken by America ; and you will also 
find an evidence in the same letter of the continued 
capture of American ships after November, and under 
^he Berlin and Milan Decrees, having been contem- 
plated by the French government, since there is a 
special direction given for judgment on such ships 
being suspended in consequence of the American 
proclamation, and for tlieir being kept as pledges for 
its enforcement 

Can then, sir, these Decrees be said to have been 
repealed at the period when the proclamation of the 
President of the United States appeared, or when 
America enforced her non-im|K)rtation act against 
Cireat-Brilain .* Are they so at this moment ? To 
the iirst (lUeslion, the state papers which I have refer- 
nui to, appear to give a sufhcient answer. For even 
supjKising that the repeal has since taken place, it is 
clear that on November o, there was no question as 
to that not being then the case ; the capture of the ship 
New-Orleans Packet seized at Bordeaux, and the 
Grace-Ann-Green, seized at orcarried into Marseilles, 
being cases arising under the French Decrees of Ber- 
lin and Milan, as is very evident. Great-Britain 
might therefore complain of being treated with injus- 
tice by America, ev«n supposing that the conduct of 
France had since been unequivocal. 

America contends that the French Decrees are re- 
voked as it respects her ships upon the high seas, and 
you, sir, inform me, that the only two American ships 
taken under their maritime operation, as you are pleas- 
ed to term it, since November 1, have been restored ; 
but may not they have been restored in consequence 
of the satisfaction felt in France at the passing of the 
non-importation act in the American Congress, an 



^ HISTORY OP THE WAR'. 

event so little to be expected ; for otherwise, having 
been captured in direct contradiction to the supposed 
revocation, why were they not restored immedi- 
ately ? 

The fears of the French navy however, prevent 
many cases of the kind occurring in the ocean under 
the Decrees of Berlin and Milan , but the most ob- 
noxious and destructive parts of those Decrees are 
exercised with full violence not only in the ports of 
France, but in those of all other countries to which 
Francethinks she can commitinjustice vvithinipunit}^ 

Great-Britain has a right to complain that neutral 
nations should overlook the very worst features of 
these extraordinary acts, and should suffer their trade 
to be made a medium of an unprecedented, violent, 
and monstrous system of attack upon her resources ; a 
species of warfare unattempted by any civilized na- 
tion before the present [)eriod. Not only has America 
suffered her trade to be moulded into the means ot 
annoyance to Great-Britain under the provisions of 
the French Decrees, but as construing those Decrees 
as extinct, upon a deceitful declaration of the French 
Cabinet, she has enforced her non-importation act 
against Great-Britain. 

Under these circumstances, I am instructed by my 
government, to urge to thatot the United States, ^the 
injustice of thus enforcing that act against his Majes- 
ty's dominions, and I cannot but hope that a spirit of 
justice will induce the United States' government to 
re-consider the line of conduct they have pursued, 
and at least to re-establish their former state of strict 
neutrality. 

1 have only to add, sir, that, on my pari, I shall ever 
be ready lo meet you on any opening which may seem 
to ai!'ord a prospect of restoring complete harmony 
between the two countries, and that it will at all times 
give mt; the greatest satisfaction to treat with you on 
the important concerns so interesting to both. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 

To ihe hon. James Monroe, SCc. 



HISTORY OF THE WAK. 25 

Mr. Foster to Mr. Monroe. 

WASHINGTON , /«/j/ 1 1 , 1 81 1 . 

SIR, 

In consequence of our conversation of yesterday, 
and the observations which you made respecting that 
part of my letter to you of the od inst. wherein 1 have 
alluded to the principle on which his Majesty's Or- 
ders in Council were orii>inally founded, I think it 
right to explain myself, in order to prevejit any possi- 
ble mistake as to the present situation of neutral trade 
with his JSlajesty's enemies. 

It will oidy be necessary for me to repeat what has 
ah'cady, long" since, been announced to the American 
'j^overnment, raujely, that his Majesty's Order in 
Council of April *it), 1809, superceded those of No- 
vember, 1807, and relieved the system of retaliation 
adopted by his Majesty against his enemies from what 
was considered m this country as the most objection- 
able part of it ; the option g"iven to neutrals to trade 
with the enemies of -Great-Britain, through British 
ports, on payuient of a transit duty. 

This explanation, sir, will, I trust, be sufficient to 
do away any imjiression that you may have received 
to the contrary from my observations respecting- the 
effects which his Majesty's Orders in Council origin- 
ally had on trade of neutral nations. Those observa- 
tions were merely meant as preliminary to a consider- 
ation of the fjuestion now at issue between the two 
countries. 

I have the honor to be, with the highest considera- 
tion and respect, sir, your most obedient humble 
i-ervant, 

AUGUSTUS J FOSTER. 

7V) ihp hort. Jmn^fi ]\]onrop, Xcc. 



f& HlS'J'ORl O^ THE WAR. 

3Ir. Foster to 3fr. Alonroe. 

WdSULHGTOjY, July 14, 13 11". 

SIR, 

His Majesty's Packet boat having been so long 
detained, and a fortnight having elapsed since my ar- 
rival at this capitol, his Royal Highness, tlie Prince 
Regent will necessarily expect that I should have to 
transmit to his Royal Highness some official commu- 
nication as to the line of conduct the American gov- 
ernment mean to pursue. I trust you will excuse 
me therefore, sir, if without pressing for a detailed 
answer to my nole of the 3d inst, I anxiously desire 
lo know from you vwhat is the President's determina- 
tion wilh respect to suspending the operation of the 
hite Act of Congress prohibiting allinsportation from 
Uie British dominions. 

There have been repeated avowals lately made by 
tiie government of F'rance, that the Decrees of Berlia 
and Milan were still in full force, and the acts of that 
government have corresponded with those avowals. 

'J'he measures of retaliation pursued by Great- 
Britain against those Decrees are consequently to the 
great regret of his Royal Higlmess sLill necessarily, 
continued. 

I have had the honor to state to yon the light in 
which his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent view- 
ed the Proclamation of the President of last Novem- 
ber, and the surprise with which he learnt the subse- 
quent measures oi Congress against the British trade. 

American ships seized under his Majesty's Orders 
in Council even after that Proclaniation aj)peare€l, 
were not immediately condemned, because it was be- 
lieved that the insidious professions of France might 
have led the American government, and the mer- 
chants of America into an erroneous construction of 
the intentions of France. 

But when the veil was thrown aside, and the 
French ruler himself avowed the continued existence 
of his invariable sysleu), it was not expected by his 
Royal Highness that America would have refused to 
retrace the steps she h;:d taken. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. ^T 

Fi'esl) proofs ]ra.ye since occiiiTed of tlie resolutiaii 
ef the French g'overnment to cast away all considera- 
tioMof the rights of nations in the unprecedented war- 
fare they liave adopted. 

America however still |7orsists in lier injurions 
measures ag-ainst the commerce of Great-Britain, and 
his Koyal Hig-hness has in consequence been obliged 
to look to means of retaliation against those measures 
which his Royal Highness cannot but consider a<; 
most unjustiiiable. 

How desirable would it not be, sir, if a stop could 
be put to any material progress in such a system of 
retaliation, which, from step to step may lead to the 
most unfriendly situation between the two countries :' 

His Majesty's government will necessarily ^^e guid- 
ed in a gre .t degree by the contents of my first dis- 
patches as to the conduct they must adopt towards 
America. 

Allow me then, sjr, to repeat my request to learn from 
you whether I may not convey what I know would be 
most grateful to his Royal Highness' feelings, namely, 
the hope that he may be enabled, by the speedy return of 
America from her unfriendly attitude towards Great- 
Britain, to forget altogether that he ever was obliged 
to have any other object in view besides that of en- 
deavoring to promote the best understanding possible 
between the two countries. 

I have the honor to be, with the highest considera- 
tion, sir, vour mostobedi«Mit humble servant, 

AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 

3b the hon. James iMonroe, S^x\ 



Mr. Foster to Mr. Monroe. 

WASHING TOJV, July 1 6, 1 8 1 1 . 

SIR, , 

1 had the honor to receive the letter which you ad- 
dressed to me under yesterday's date, requesting an 
explanation from me, in consequence of my letter*^ 



28 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

of the 3d and 14th itist. of the precise extent in which 
a repeal of the French Decrees is by his Majesty's 
government, made a condition ol tlic repeal of the 
British Orders, and particuhirly wlietlierthe condition 
embraces the seizure of vessels and merchandize en- 
tering' FrencI) ports in contravention of Fi'ench regu- 
lations, as M'ell as the capture on the high seas, of 
neutral vessels and their carg-oes, on tlie mere allega- 
tion that they are bound to or from British ports, or 
Ihatlhey have on board British j)roductions or man- 
ufactures ; as also, stating' that in your view of the 
French Decrees, they comprise reg^ulations essentially 
different in their principles, some of them violating 
the neutral ri£>hts of the United States, others operat- 
ing against Great-Britain without any such violation. 

You will permit me, sir, for the purpose of answer- 
ing your questions as clearly and concisely as possi- 
ble, to bring into view the French Decrees them- 
selves, together with the official declarations of the 
French minister which accompanied them. 

In the body of those Decrees, and in the declara- 
tions alluded to, you w ill find, sir, express avowals 
that the principles on which they were founded, and 
provisions contained in them, are wholly new, unpre- 
cedented, and in direct contradiction to ail ideas of 
justice and the principles and usages of all civilized 
nations. The French government did not |)relend to 
say that any one of the regulations contained in those 
Decrees was a regnlatioti which France had ever 
been in the previous practice of. 

They were consequently to be considered, ami were 
mdeed allowed by France herself to be, all of liiem, 
parts of a newsystjm of warfare, unauthorised by the 
established laws of nations. 

It is in this light in which Fiauce herseU has placed 
her Decrees ; that Great-Britain is obliged to consid- 
er them. 

The submission of tieatrals to ^.\\\ rogidations made 
by France, authorised by the laws of nations, and 
practised in former wars, will never be comphiincd 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 29 

of by Great-Britaiu ; bat the reg-ulationsof the Berlin 
and Mian Decrees do, and are declared to violate 
the laws of" nations, and the rights of neutrals, for the 
purpose of attacking throug-h them the resources of 
Great-Britain. The ruler of France has drawn no 
distinction between any of them, nnr has he declared 
the cessation of any one of them in the speech which he 
so lately addressed to the deputation from the free 
Imperial Hanse Towns, which was on the contrary a 
confirmation of them all. 

Not until the French Decrees therefore shall be 
effectually repealed, and thereby neutral commerce 
be restored to the situation in which it stood previous- 
ly to their promnlo;'alion, can his royal highness con- 
ceive himself justified, consistenlly wilh what he owes 
to the safety and honour of Great Britain, in forego- 
ing the just measures of retaliation which his JMajesty 
in his defence was necessitated to adopt against them. 

I trust, sir, that this explanation in answer to your 
enquires will be considered by you sufficiently satis- 
factory ; should you require any furlher, and which 
itmaybein my power to give, I shall \\\\h the 
greatest cheerfulness afford it. 

I sincerely hope, however, that no iiirlher delay 
will be thought necessary by the Piesident in restor- 
ing the relations of amity which s'jould ever subsist be- 
tween America and Great-Britnin, as tiie delusions 
attempted by the government of France have now 
been made manii'est, and the perfidious plans of its 
ruler exposed ; by which, while he adds to and agra- 
vates his system of violence against neutral trade, he 
endeavours to throw all the odium of his acts upon 
Great Britain with a view tii engender discord be- 
tween the neutral countries, and the only power 
which stands uo as a bulwark, aafainst his efiorts at 
universal tyranny and oppression. 

Excuse me, sir, if I express my wish as early as 
possible to dis[ ate h his Majesty's packet bo;it with 
the result of our communications, as his MajestYS 
g'overnment will necessarily be most anxious to heay 



BO HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

from me. Any short period of time, however, which 
may appear to you to be reasonable, I will not hesi- 
tate to detain her. 

I have the honor to f)e with the highest considera- 
tion and respect, sir, your most obedient humble 
stirvant. 

AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 

1^0 the hon. James Monroe, ^c. 



Mr. Monroe to 3Ir. Foster. 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, July 23d, 1811. 

SIR, 

I have submitted to the President your several let- 
ters of the 3d and 16th of this month relative to the 
British Orders in Council and the blockade of May, 
18U6, and I have now the honor to communicate to 
you his sentunents on the view which you have pre- 
sented ol those measures of your g-overnme-it. 

It was hoped that your communication would have 
led to an immediate accommodation of the differences 
subsisting between our couiitries, on the ground on 
which alone it is possible to meet you. It is regretted 
that you have confined yourself to a vindication of the 
measures wliich produced some of them. 

The United States are as little disposed now as 
heretofore to enter into the question concerning the 
priority of aggression bv the two belligerents, which 
oould not be justified by either, by thj priority of 
Ihoscof the other. But as you bring forward that 
plea in support of the Orders in Council, I nmst be 
permitted to remark that you have yourself furnished 
a conclusive answer to it, by admitting that the block- 
ade of May 1806, which was prior to the first of the 
I^'rench Decrees, would not be legal, unless supported 
througii the whole extent of the coast, from the Elbe 
to Brest, by an adequate naval force. That such a 
naval force wasactualy applyed and contiinied in the 
requisite strictness ttntil tliat blockade was comprised 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 31 

m and superceded by the Orders of November of the 
following'year, or even uiitd the French Decree of 
the same year, will not I presume be alleged. 

But waving- this question of priority, can it be seen 
without both surj»rise and regret, that it is still con- 
tended, ihat the Orders in Council arejustifii^d by the 
principle of retaliation, and that this principle is 
strengthened by the inability of France to enforce her 
Decrees. A retaliation is in its name, and its essen- 
tial character, a returning like lor like. Is the dead- 
ly blow of the Ortlers in Council against one half of 
our commerce, a return of like for like to an empty 
threat in the French Deci-ees, against the other half 1* 
It may be a vindicative hostility, as far as its eftects 
falls on the enemy. But when falling on a neutral 
who on no pretext can be liable for more than the 
measure of injury received through such neutral it 
would not be a retaliation, but a positive wrong by 
the plea on which it is founded. 

It is to be further remarked that the Orders in 
Council went even beyond the plea, such as this has 
appeared to l>e, in extending its operation against the 
trade of the United Slates, with nations which, like; 
Russia, had not adopted the French Decrees, and 
with all nations which had merely excluded the Brit- 
ish Hag ; an exclusion resulting as a matter of course 
with respect to whatever nation Great-Britain might 
happen to be at war. 

I am far from viewing the modification originally 
contained in these Orders, which permits neutrals to 
prosecute their trade with the continent, through 
Great-Britain, in the favorable light in which you i*e- 
present it. It is impossible to proceed to notice the 
effect of this modification without expressing our as- 
tonishment at the extravagance of the political preten- 
sion set up by it : a pretension which is utterly incom- 
patible with the sovereignty and independance of oth- 
er states. In a commercial view, it is not less objec- 
tionable, as it cannot fail to prove destructi\e to neu- 
tral coumuTce. As an enemv, Great-Britain cannot 



32 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

trade with France. Nor does France |)erinit a neu- 
tral to come into her ports from Great- Britain. The 
attenipt of Great-Britain to force our trade through 
her ports, would have therefore the commercial effect 
of depriving the United States altogether otthe mark- 
et of her enemy for their productions, and of destroy- 
ing their value in her market hy a surcharge of it. 
Heretofore it has been the usayfe of hellisferent na- 
lions to carry on their trade thiough the intervention of 
neutrals ; and this had the beneficial effect of extend- 
ing to the former tlie advantages of peace, while suf- 
fering under the calamities of war. To reverse the 
rule, and to extend to nations at peace, the calamities 
of war, is a change as novel and cxtraorditiary as it is 
at variance with justice and public hiw. 

Against this unjust sys'.em, the United States en- 
tered, at an early period, their solemn protest. They 
considered it their duty to evince to the world their 
high disapprobation of it, and I hey hare done so by 
such acts as were deemed most consistent with the 
rights and the policy of the nation. Remote from the 
contentious scene which desolates Euroje, it has been 
their uniform object to avoid becon)ing a party to the 
war — With this view they have endeavored to culti- 
vate friendship with both I'arties, by a system of con- 
duct which ought to have produced that effect. 
They have done justice to each party in ^very trans- 
action in which they have been separately engaged 
with it. They have observed the impartiality which 
was due to both as belligerents standing on equal 
■>n)nnd, having in no instance given a preference to 
•Mtiier at the expense of the other. They have borne 
too with C(pKd indulgence injuries IVont both, being 
willing whde it was p<)ssible, to impute them to casu- 
aiitics mseparaltle from a cause of war, and not to a 
doli!>criitc intention to violate their rights, and even 
\^h< n that intention could not be mistaken, they have 
nol lost sight of the ultimate object of their policy. 
In IhiMneasures to which they have been coujpelhd 
I't resort, ihov have in all respects maintained pacitic 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 33 

relations with both parties. The alternative present- 
ed by their late acts, was offeretl equally to both, and 
could operate on neither, no longer than it should 
persevere in its agressions on our neutral riohts. 
The enibarg-o and noii-interconrsc, were peaceful 
measures. The regulations which they imposed on 
our trade were such as any nation might adopt in 
peace or war, without offence to any other nation. 
The non-impoHation is of the same character, and if 
it makes a distmction at this time, in its operation be- 
^ween the belligerents, it necessarily results from a 
compliance of one with the offer made to both, and 
which is still open to the compliance of the other. 

In the discussions which have taken place on the 
subject of the Orders in Council and blockade of IMa}'^ 
1806, the British government in conformity to the 
principle on which the Orders in Council are said to be 
founded, declared that they should cease to operate as 
soon as France revoked her Edicts. It was stated al- 
so, that the British government would proceed pari 
jyaasu, with ihe goxernment of Fiance, in the revoca- 
tion of her Edicts. I will proceed to shew that the 
obligation on Great-Britain to revoke her Orders is 
complete, according to her own engagements, and 
that the revocation ought not to be longer delayed. 
.' By the Act of May 1st, 181U, it is provided, ♦ That 
rff either Great-Bntain or France should cease to vio- 
jate the neutral commerce of the United States, which 
fact the President should declare by proclamation, 
and the other party should not within three months 
thereafter revoke or modify its Edicts m like m 'uner, 
^Umt then certain sections in a former act interdicting 
^^ commercial intercourse between the United States 
and Great-Britain and France and their dependen- 
cies, should from and after the expiration of three 
months from the date of the proclamation, be revived 
and have full force against theformeivits coloiiies and 
dependencies, and against all articles the growth, pro- 
duce, or manufacture of the same.' 



34 HISTORY OF THE WAK. 

The violations of neutral comnaerce alluded to in 
this act, were such as weVe committed on the high 
seas. It was in the trade between the United States 
and the British dominions, that France had violated 
the neutral rights of the United States by her bh)rk- 
ading Edicts. Jt was with the trade of France and 
her allies that Great-Britain had committed similar 
violations by similar Edicts. It was the revocation 
of those Edicts, so far as they conimitted such viola- 
tions, which the United States had in view, when they 
passed the law of May 1st, 1810. On the 5th of 
August, 1810, the French minister of foreign attairs 
addressed a note to the minister plenipotentiary of 
the United States at Paris, informing him that the 
Decrees of Berlin and Milan were revoked; the re- 
vocation to take effect on the 1st of November fol- 
lowing : that the measure had been taken by his gov- 
ernment in coi fidence that the British government 
would revoke its Orders, and renounce its new prin- 
ciples of blockade, or that the United States would 
cause their rights to be respected, conformably to the 
act of May 1st, 1810. 

This measure of the French government was 
founded on the law of May 1st, 1810, as is expressly 
declared in the letter of the Duke of Cadore announc- 
ing it. The Edicts of Great-Britain, the revocation 
of which were expected by France, were those allud- 
ed to in that act; and the means by which the United 
Stales should cause their rights to be respected, in 
case Great-Britain should not revoke her Edicts, were 
likewise to be found in the same act. They consist- 
ed merely in the enforcement of the non-importation 
act against Great-Britain, in that unexpected and im- 
probable contingency. 

The letter of the 5th of August, which announced 
the revocation of the French Decrees, was communi- 
cated to this government, in consequence of which 
the President issued a proclamation on the 2d of No- 
vember, the day after that on which the re[ieal of the 
French Decrees was to take efl'ect, in which he de- 
clared that all the restrictions imposed by the act of 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 35 

l^lay 1st, 1810, should cease and be discontinued in 
relation to France and her dependencies. It was a 
necessary consequence of this proclamation, also, that 
if Great-Britain did not revoke her Edicts, the non- 
importation would operate on her, at the end of three 
months. This actually took place. She declined the 
revocation, and on the 2d of February last, that law 
took effect. In confirmation of the proclamation, an 
act of Congress was passed on the 2d of i\Iarch fol- 
lowing. 

Great-Britain still declines to revoke her Edicts, 
on the pretension that France has not revoked hers. 
Under that impression she infers that the United 
States have done her injustice by carrying into effect 
the non-importation against her. 

Tlie United States maintain that France has re- 
voked her Edicts, so far as they violated their neutral 
rights, and were contemplated by thelaw of May 1st, 
1810, and have on that ground particularly claimed 
and do expect of Great-Britain a similar revocation. 

The revocation announced officially by the French 
minister of foreign affairs, to the minister plenipoten- 
tiary of the United States at Paris, on the 5th of 
August, 1810, was in itself sufficient to justify the claim 
of the United States to a correspondent measure from 
Great-Britain. She had declared that she would 
proceed pari passu in the repeal with France, and 
the day being fixed when the repeal of the French 
Decrees should take effect, it was reasonable to con- 
clude that Great-Britain would fix the same day for 
the repeal of her Orders. Had this been done, the 
proclamation of the President would have announced 
the revocation of the Edicts of both powers at the 
same time and in consequence thereof the non-impor- 
tation would have gone into operation against neither. 
— Such, too, is the natural course of proceeding in 
transactions between independant states ; and such 
the conduct which they generally observe towards 
each other. In all compacts between nations, it is the 
duty of each to perform what it stipulates, and to pre- 
sume on the good faith of the other for a like per- 



36 HISTORY OF THE \^AK. 

formance. The [Jnited States having made a pro- 
posal to both belligerents were bound to accept a 
compliance from either, and it was no objection to 
the French compliance, that it was in a form to takp 
effect at a future day, that being a form not unusual 
in other public acts ; even when nations are at war 
and make peace, Ihis obligation of neutral confidence 
exists and is respected. In treaties of commerce, 
by which their fuiure intercourse is to be governed, 
the obligation is the same. — If distrust and jealousy 
are allowed to prevail, the moral tie which binds na- 
tions together in all their relations, in war as well as 
in peace, is broken. 

What would Great-Britain have hazarded by a 
prompt compliance in the manner suggested ? She 
bad declared ihat she had adopted the restraints im- 
posed by her Orders in Council with reluctance, be- 
cause of their distressing effect on neutral powers. 
Here then was a favorable opportunity presented to 
her, to withdraw from that measure with honor, be 
the conduct of France, afterwards, what it might. 
Had Great-Britain revoked her Orders, and France 
failed to fulfil her engagement, she would have gain- 
ed credit at the expense of France, and couid have 
sustained no injury by it, because the failure of 
France to maintain her faith w ould have replaced 
Great-Britain at the point from M'hich she had de{)art- 
ed. To say that a disappointed reliance on the good 
faith of her enemy, would have reproached her tore- 
sight, would be to set a higher value on that quality 
than on consistency and good faith, and would sacri- 
fice to a mere suspicion towards an enemy, the plain 
obligations of justice towar<ls a friendly power. 

Great-Britain has declined \iroceed\iig patri pasm 
with Fra^ice in the revocation of their respoclive 
Edicts. She has held aloof, and claims of the United 
States proof not only that France has revoked her 
Decrees, but that she continues to act in conformity 
•With the revocation. 

To shew that the repeal is respected, it is deemed 
sufficient to stale, that not one vessel has been con- 



HISTORY OF THE \rAll. 87 

iJemned by French tribunals, on the principles of those 
Decrees, since the 1st of November last. — The New- 
Orleans packet from Gibraltar to Bordeauv, was de- 
tained but never condemned. The Grace Ann 
Green, from the same British port, to Marseilles, was 
likewise detained, but afterwards delivered up uncon- 
ditionally to the owner, as was such part of the cargo 
of the New-Orleans packet as consisted of the pro- 
duce of the United States. Both these vessels pro- 
ceeding from a British port, carried cargoes, some 
articles of which in each, were prohibited by the laws 
of Prance, or admissible by the sanction of the gov- 
ernment alone. It does not appear that their deten- 
tion was imputable to any other cause. If imputable 
to the cu'cumstance of passing from a British to a 
French port, or on account of any part of their car- 
goes, it aifords no cause of complaint in Great-Britain, 
as a violation of her neutral rights. No such cause 
would be afforded, even in a case of condemnation. 
The right of complaint, would have belonged to the 
United States. 

In denying the revocation of the Decreess, so far 
as it is a proper slibject of discussion between us, it 
might reasonably be expected that you would pro- 
duce some examples of vessels taken at sea, in 
voyages to British ports, or on their return home, and 
condemned under them by a French tribunal. None 
such has been afforded by you. None such are 
known to this government 

You urge only as an evidence that the Decrees are 
not repealed, the speech of the Emperor of France 
to the deputies from the free cities of Hamburg, Bre- 
men, ancf Lubeck ; the Imperial Edict dated at Fon- 
tainbleau on the 19th of October, 1810; the report 
of the French minister of foreign affairs, dated in De- 
cember last, and a letter of the minister of Justice to 
the President of the Council of prizes of the 25th of 
that month. 

There is nothing in the first of these papers incom- 
patible with the revocation of the Decrees, in respect 
to the United Stales. It is distincly declared by 



38 HISTORY OP THE WAR, 

the Emperor in his speech to the deputies of the 
Hanse Towns, that the blockade of the British 
Islands shall cease when the British blockades cease ; 
and that the French blockade shall cease in favor of 
those nations in whose favor Great Britain revokes 
hers, or who support their ri^fhts against her preten- 
sion, as France admits the United States will do by 
enforcing the non-importation act. The same senti- 
ment is expressed in the report of the ministers of 
foreign affairs. — The Decree of Fontainbleau having 
no effect on the high seas, cannot be broughtinto this 
discussion. It evidently has no connection with neutral 
rights. The letter from the minister of justice, to 
the President of the Council of prizes, is of a different 
character. It relates in direct terms to this subject 
but not in the sense in which you understand it. Af- 
ter reciting the note from the duke of Cadore of the 
5th August last, to the American minister at Paris, 
which announced the repeal of the French Decree's, 
and the proclamation of the President in consequence 
of it, it states that all causes arising under those De- 
crees after the 1st of November, which were then be- 
fore the court, or might afterwards be brought before 
it, should not be judged by the principles of the De- 
crees, but be suspended until the 2d February, when 
the United States having fulfiled their engagement, 
the captures should be declared void, and the vessels 
and their cargoes delivered up to their owners. This 
paper appears to afford an unequivocal evidence of 
the revocation of the Decrees, so far as relates to the 
United States. By instructing the French tribunal 
to make no decision till the 2d of February, and then 
to restore the property to the owners, on a particular 
event which has happened, all cause of doubt on that 
point seems to be removed. Tlie United States may 
justly complain of delay in the restitution of the prop- 
erty, but that is an injury which effects them only. 
Great-Britain has no right to complain of it. She 
was interested only in the revocation of the Decrees 
by which neutral rights would be secured from future 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 39 

violation ; or if she had been interested in the delay it 
would have afforded no pretext for more than a delay 
in repealing- her orders the 2d of February. From 
that day at farthest the French Decrees would cease. 
At the same day ought her Orders to have ceased. I 
might add to this statement, that every communication 
received from the French government, either through 
our representatives there, or its representatives here, 
are in accord with the actual repeal of the Berlin and 
Milan Decrees, in relation to the neutral commerce of 
the United States. But it will suffice to remark that the 
best, and only adequate evidence of their ceasing- to 
operate, is the defect of evidence that they do operate. 
It is a case where the want of proof against the fulfil- 
ment of a pledge is proof of the fulfilment. Every 
case occurring, to which if the Decrees were in force, 
they would be applied, and to which they are not ap- 
plied, is a proof that they are not in force. And if 
these proofs have not been more multiplied, I need 
not remind you that a cause is to be found in the nu- 
merous captures under your Orders in Council, 
which continue to evince the rigour with which they 
are enforced, after a failure of the basis on which thev^ 
are supposed to rest. 

But Great-Britain contends, as appears by your last 
letters, that she ought not to revoke her Orders in 
Council, until the commerce of tl e continent is restor- 
ed to the state in which it stood before the Berlin and 
Milan Decrees were issued ; until the French Decrees 
are repealed not only as to the United States, but so as 
to permit Great-Britain to trade with the continent. Is 
it then meant that Great-Britain should be allowed 
to trade with all the powers with whom she traded at 
that epoch ? Since that time France has extended her 
conquests to the north, and raised enemies ag-ainsl 
Great-Britain, where she then hnd friends. Is it pro 
posed to trade wilh ihem notwilhstanding- the chati'rt 
in their situation ? Between the enemies of one state 
as.d those of another, no discrimination can be made. 
There is none in reason nor cafi there be ;.inv of rinb! . 



4X> HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

in practice. Or do you maintain the general princi- 
ple and contend that Great-Britain ought to trade 
with France and her Allies? Between enemies there 
can be no commerce. The vessels of either taken by 
the other are liable to confiscation and are always 
confiscated. The number of enemies or extent of 
country which ihey occupy, cannot affect the question. 
The laws of war g^overn the relation which subsist be- 
tween them, which especially in the circumstance un- 
der consideration are invariable. They were the 
same in times the most remote that they now are. 
Even if peace had taken place between Great-Bri- 
tain and the powers ot the continent she Mould not 
trade with them without their consent. Or does 
Great-Britain contend, that the United Slates as a 
neutral power, ought to oj en the continent to her com- 
merce, on such terms as she may designate ? Oil 
what principle can she set up such a clauii ? No ex- 
ample of it can be found \n iJie history of past wars, 
nor is it founded in any recognized principle of war, 
or in any semblance of reason or right. The United 
btates could not maintain such a chiim in their 
t/wn favor, though neutral — v^hen advanced in fa- 
vor of an enemy, it would be the most preposterous 
kud extravagant claim ever heard of. Kvery power 
wlien not restriuned by treaty, has a right to regulate 
its trade with other nations, m such a manner as it 
finds it most consistent with its interest; to admit, 
andon its own conditions, cr to prohibit the importation 
of such articles as are necessary to supply the wants, or 
encourage the industry of its people. In what light 
would Great- Britain view an application from the 
United States for the repeal of right of any act of her 
parliament, which prohibited the importation af any 
article from the United States, such as their fish, or 
their oil P Or which claimed the diminution oi'the du- 
ty on any other, such as their tobacco on which so 
great a revenue is raised ? In what light would she 
view a similar application made ..t the instance of 
France, for the importation into England, of any arli- 



iirsTORY or the war. * 41 

cle the growth or manufacture of that power which it 
was the pohcy of the British government to prohibit. 

If delays have taken place in the restitution of A- 
merican property, and in placing the American com- 
naerce in the ports of France on a fair and satisfac- 
tory basis, they involve oiiestions, as has already been 
observed, in which the United States alone are inter- 
ested. As they do not violate the revocation by 
France, of her Edicts, they cannot impair the obliga- 
tion of Great- Britain to revoke hers ; nor change the 
epoch at which the revocation ought to have taken 
pJace. Had that duly followed, it is more than prob- 
able that those circumstances, irrelative as they are^ 
which have excited doubt in the British government 
of the practical revocation of the French Decrees, 
might not have occurred. 

Every view which can be taken of this subject in- 
creases the painful surprise at the iimovatioiis on all 
the principles and usages heretofore observed, which 
are so unreservedly contended for, in your letters of 
the dd and IGth inst. and which, if persisted in by 
your government presents such an obstacle to the 
wishes ot the United States, for a removal of the diffi- 
culties which have been connected with the Orders in 
Council. It is the interest of belligerents to mitigate 
the calamities of war, and neutral powers possess am- 
ple means to promote that object, provided they sus- 
tain with impartiality and hrmnesslhe dignity of their 
station. It" belligerents expect advantage from neu- 
trals, they should leave them in the full enjoyment of 
their rights. The present war, has been oppressive 
beyond example, by its duration, and by the desolation 
which it has spread throughout Europe. It is highly 
important that it should assume, at least, a milder 
character. By the revocation of the French Edicts, 
so far as they respected the neutral commerce of the 
United States, some advance is made towards that 
most desirable and consoling result. Let Great-^ 
Britain follow the example. The ground thus gain- 
ful will soon be enlarged by the concurring and prcjs- 
6 



4C$ HISTORT or THE WAB. 

sing interest of all parties, and whatever is gaiijed, will 
accrue to the advantag-e of afflicted humanity. 

I proceed to notice another part of your letter of tlie 
3d inst. which is viewed in a more favorable light- 
The President has received with great satisfaction the 
communication that should the Orders in Council of 
1807, be revoked, the blockade of May of the preced- 
ing year, Mould cease with them, and that any block- 
ade which should afterwards be instituted, should be 
duly notified and maintained by an adequate force. 
This frank and explicit declaration, worthy of tlie 
prompt and amicable measure adopted by the Prince 
Regent in coming into power, seems to remove a ma- 
teriid obstacle to an accommodation of differences 
between our countries, and vheu followed by the re- 
vocation of the Orders in Council, will, as I am 
authorised to inform you, produce an immediate ter- 
mination of the non-importation law, by an exercise 
of the power vested in the President for that purpose. 

I conclude with remarking that if I have confined 
this letter to the subjects brought into view by yours; 
it is not because the United States have lost sioht in 
any degree of the other very serious caust s of com- 
plaint, on which thc-y have received no satisfaction, 
but because the conciliatory policy of this g<jvernnient 
has thus far separated the case of the Orders in Coun- 
cil from others, and because with respect to these 
others, }our communication has not aflbrded any 
reasonable prosfiect of resuming them, at this time, 
with success. It is presumed that the same liberal 
view of the true interests ot Great-Britain, and friend- 
ly disposition towards tlie United States, which in- 
duced the Prince Regent to rcmo\e so material a 
difficulty as had ari.sen in relation to a repeal of the 
Orders in Council, wdl lead to a more favorable 
turlher consideration of the remaining difficulties on 
that subject, and th;it the advantages of ar amicabie 
a<ijusklDuent of every question, depending between 



HISTORY t)F THE WAR, 43 

the two countries, will be seen by your ^OTernment, 
ill Ihe sains light, as they are by that of the United 
States. 

i have the honor to be, &:c. 

(Signed.) JAMES MONROE. 



Mr. Foster to Mr. Monroe. 

\\'*iSHiNGTON, July 24th, 1831. 
SIR, 

Having- been unable to ascertain distinctly from 
your letter to me of" yesterday's date, whether it was 
the determination of the President to rest satisfied 
with the partial repeal of the Berlin and Milan De- 
crees, svhich you believe has taken place, so as to sec 
no reason, in the conduct of France, for altering the 
relations between this country and Great-Britain, by 
exercising his power of suspending the operation of 
the non-iuiportation act, allow me to repeat my ques- 
tion to you on this point, as contained in my letter of 
the 14th inst. before I proceed to make any com- 
ments on your answer. 

1 have the honor to be, with distinguished consid- 
eration, sir, your most ohedieut hmnble servant, 

AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 



Mr Foster to Mr. Monroe. 

WASHINGTON, July 2()th, 1811. 

SIR, 

I have had the honor to receive your letter of July 
23d, in answer to mine of the Sd and 14th inst. which 
you will permit me to say were not merely relative 
to his Majesty's Orders in Council, and the blockade 
of May 180(5, but also to the President's proclama- 
tion ot^lasl November, and to the coasuquent act ot 



44 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Congress of Marcli 2d, as well as to the just com- 
plaints which his Royal Highness, the Prince He- 
gent, had commanded me to make to your govern- 
ment, with respect to the proclamation and to that 
act. 

If the United States' government had expected 
that I should have made communications which 
wr>uld have enabled them to come to an accommo- 
dation with Great-Britain on the ground on which 
alone you say it was possible to meet us, and that you 
mean by that expression a departure from our system 
of defence against the new kind of warfare still prac- 
tised by France, I am at a loss to discover from what 
source they could have derived those expectations -y 
certainly not from the correspondence between the 
Marquis Wellesly and Mr. Pinkney. 

Before I proceed to reply to the arguments which 
are brought forward by you to show that the Decrees 
of Berlin and Milan are repealed, I must first enter 
into an explanation upon some points on which you 
have evidently misapprehended, for I will not suppose 
you could have wished to misinterpret my meaning. 

And first, in regard to the blockade of May, 1806, 
I must avow that I am wholly at a loss to find out 
from what part of my letter it is that the President has 
drawn the unqualified inference, that should the Or- 
ders in Council of 1807, be revoked, the blockade of 
May, 180(), would cease with them. — It is most mate- 
rial that, on this point, no mistake should exist be- 
tween us. From your letter it would appear, as if on 
the question of blockade which America had so un- 
expectedly connected with her demand for a repeal 
of om- Orders in Council, Great-Britain had made the 
concession required of her ; as if, after all that has 
passed on the subject, after the astonishment and re- 
gret of his Majesty's government at the United Slates 
having taken up the view which the French govern- 
ment presented, of our just and legitimate principles 
of blockade, which are exemplified n\ the blockade of 
iVIay, 1806, the whole ground taken by his Majesty's 



HISTORY OF THE WAH, 45 

government was at once abandoned. ^A' lien I had 
tlie honor to exhibit to you my instructions, and to 
draw ujj as 1 conceived, according to your wishes and 
those of the President, a statement of the mode in 
which tiiat blockade would probably disappear ; I 
never meant to authorise such a conclusion, and t 
now beg most unequivocally to disclaim it. The 
blockade of IVIay 1806, will not continue after the 
repeal of the Orders in Council, unless his Majesty's 
government shall think tit to sustain it by the special 
application of a sufficient naval force, and the fact of 
its being so continued or not, will be notified at the 
time. If, in this view of the matter, which is certain- 
ly presented in a conciliatory spirit, one of the obsta- 
cles to a complete understanding between our coun- 
tries can be removed by the United States govern- 
ment waving all further reference to that blockade 
when they can be justified in asking a repeal of the 
Orders, arid if I may communicate this to my govern- 
ment, it will undoubtedly be very satisfactory ; but I 
beg distinctly to disavow having made any acknowl- 
edgement that the blockade would cease merely in 
consequence of a revocation of the Orders in Coun- 
cil ; whenever it does cease, it will cease because 
there will be. no adequate force to maintain it. 

On another very material point, sir, you aj)pear to 
have iniscoiiatrued my words; for in no one passage 
of my letter can I discover any mention of innovations 
on the pan of Great-Britain, such as you say excited 
a painiul surprise in your government. There is no 
new pretension set up by his Majesty's government. 
In a .:>wer to questions of yours, as to what were the 
Deci'ees or regulations of France which Great-Bri- 
tain complained of, and against which she directs her 
retaliatory measures, I brought distinctly into your 
view the Berlin and Milan Decrees, and you have 
not denied, because, indeed, you could not, that the 
provisions of those Decrees were new measures of 
war on the part of Fiance, acknowledged as such by 
her ruler, and contrary to the principles and usages of 



46 HISTORY or TITE WAR. 

civilii!:ed nations. That the present war has been op- 
pressive beyond example by its dnratioa, and the des- 
olation it spreads through Europe^ I willingly awree 
with vou, but the United States cannot surely mean 
to attribute the cause to Great-Britaui. The question 
between Great-Britain and France is that of an hon- 
orable struggle against the lawless efforts of an am- 
bitious tvrant, and America can but have the wish of 
every independent nation as to its result. 

On a third point, sir, I have a'so to regret that my 
meaning' should have been mistaken. Great-Britain 
never contended that British merchant vessels should 
be allowed to trade with her enemies, or that British 
property should be allowed entry into their ports, as 
■you would infer ; such a pretension would indeed be 
preposterous ; but Great-Britain does contend against 
the system of terror put in practice by France, by 
which usurping authority wherever her arms or the 
timidity of nations will enable her to extend her influ- 
ence, she makes it a crime to neutral countries as well 
as individuals that they should possess articles, howev- 
er acquired, which may have been once the produce 
ofE;)gIish industry or of th(^ British soil. Against 
such an abominable and extravagant pretension every 
feeling must revolt, and the honor no less than the 
interest of Great- Britain engages hertoo|)pose it. 

Turning to the course of argument contained in 
J on- let er, a low me to express my surprise at 
the conciasion you draw in considering the question 
of priority relative to the French Decrees or British 
Orders in Council. It was clearly proved that the 
blockade of May, 18>'J(>, was maintained by an ade- 
quate naval force, and therefore was a blockade 
founded on just and legitimate principles, and 1 have 
not heard that it was considered in a contrary light 
when notiiied as such to you by Mr. Secretary Fox, 
nor until it suited the views of France to endeavor 
to have it considered otherwise. Why America took 
up the view the French government chose to give of 
it, and could see in it grounds for the French De- 
crees, was always matter of astonishment in England. 



HISTORY or THE WAR. & 

Your remarks on moditicatlons at various times of 
oiu- system ot retaliation will require the less reply 
from the circumstance of the Orders in Cotmcil of 
April, 1800, having superceded them all. Tliey were 
calculated for the avow ed j urpose of softenino- the eftect 
of the original Orders 04i neutral commerce, the inci- 
dental effect of those Orders on neutrals having been 
ahva} s sincerely regreted by his Majt-sty's govern- 
ment ; but whtn it was found that neutrals objected to 
them they were removed. 

As to the principle of retaliation, it is founded on 
the just and natural right of self defence against our 
enemy ; if France is unable to enforce her Decrees 
on the ocean, it is not from the want of will, lor she 
enforces tliem wherever she can do it ; htr threats are 
only empty where her power is of no a\ail. 

In the view you have taken of the conduct of 
America, in her relations with the two belligerents, 
and in the conclusion you draw with respect to the 
mipartiality of your country, as exemplified in the non- 
importation law, I lament to say I cannot agrte with 
you. That act is a direct measure against the Bri- 
tish trade, enactedat a time when all the legal authoi'i- 
ties in the United States appeared ready to contest 
the statement of a repeal; of the French Decrees, on 
which was founded the President's prociaination of 
November id, ajjd consequently t«* dispute the justice 
©Ithe proclamation itself. 

You urge, sir,thiit the British government promised 
to ^VQiUded pari passu witii France in th.e repeal of her 
Edicts. It IS to be wished you could point out to us any' 
step France has taken in repeal of liets. Great-Bri- 
tain has repeatedly declared that she would re, eal 
w hen tlieFrench did so, and she meai>s to keep to that 
declaration. 

I have slated to you that we cculd not consider the 
letter of Anguyt -3, declaring the repeal of the French 
Edicts, providMtg w^e revoked our Orders in Council, 
or America resented our not doing so, as a step of that 
mature; and the French iiovertimenl knew that '^e 



48 I HISTORY or THE WAR. 

could not ; their object was evidently while their sys- 
tem was adhered to, in all its rigour, to endeavor to 
persuade the American government that they had re- 
laxed from it and to induce her to proceed in enfor- 
cing the submission of Great- Britain to the inordinate 
demands of France. It is to be lamented that they 
have but too well succeeded ; for the United Slates 
g-overnment appear to have considered the French 
Declaration in the sense in which France wished it to 
be takeo, as an absoUite repeal of her Decrees, without 
adverting to the conditional terms which accompani- 
ed it. 

But you assert that no violations of your neutral 
rights by France occur on the high seas, and that 
these were all the violations alluded to in the act of 
Congress oi May, 1810. 1 readily believe indeed that 
such cases ai'e rare, but it is owing to the preponde- 
rance of the British navy that they are so, when scarce 
a ship under the French flag can venture to sea with- 
out beingtaken,it is not extraordinary that the) make 
no captures. If such violations alone were within the 
purview of your law, there would seem to have been 
no necessity for its enactment. The Bri isii navy 
might have been safely trusted for the prevention of 
this occurrence. But I have always believed and 
my government h.is believed that the American 
legislators had in view in the provision of their law 
as it respects France not only her deeds of \iolence 
on the seas, but all the novel and extraordinary pre- 
tensions and j^ractices of her government which in- 
fringed their neutral rights. 

We have had no evidence as yet of any of those 
pretensions being abandoned. To the amb.gnous de- 
claration in Mr. Champagny's note is oi>j.osed the 
unambiouous and personal <leclaralion ol Bonaparte 
liimself. You urge that there is nollnng incompati- 
ble with the revocation of the Decrees in respect to 
the United Stales in his expressions to the deputies 
from the free cities oi Hamburgh, Bremen, and Lu- 
beck, that it is distinctly slated in that speech, that 



HISTOHY OF THE wah. 49 

t/ie hlochacle of the British Islands shall cease when 
the British blockade shall cease, and that the French 
blockade shall cease in favor of those nations in 
whose favor Great-Britain revokes hers or who sup- 
port their rights against her pretensions. 

It is to be infered from lliis and. the corresponding' 
parts of the declaration alluded to, that unless Great- 
Britain sacrifices her principles of blockade, which 
are those authorize<l by the established laws of nations, 
France W'll still maintain her Decrees of Berlin and 
Milan, which indeed, the speech in question declares 
to be the fundamental laws of the French empire. 

I do not, I confess, conceive how these avowals of 
the ruler of France, can be said to he compatible with 
the repeal of his Decrees in respect to the United 
States. If the United States are prepared to insist ou 
the sacrifices byGi^eat-Britain of the ancient and esta- 
blished rules of maritime w ar practised by her, then 
indeed they may avoid the operation of the French 
Decrees, but otherwise, according- to this document, 
it is very clear that they are still subjected to them. 

The Decree of Fountainbleau is confessedly found- 
ed on the Decrees of Berlin and Milan, dated the 
19th October, 1810, and proves their continued exis- 
tence. The reportof the French minister of Decem- 
ber 8, announcing the perseverance of France in her 
Decrees is still further in confirmation of them, and 
a re-perusal of the letter of the minister of Justice, of 
the 2.jth lust December, confirms me in the inference 
I drew from it, for otherwise why should that minis- 
ter make the prospective restoration of American ves- 
sels, taken after the 1st of November, to be a conse- 
quence of the non-importation, and not of the French 
levocation. If the French government had been 
sincere, they would have ceased infringing on th<: 
neutral rights of America, after the 1st November. — 
That they violated them, however, after that period, 
is notorious. 

Your government seem to let it be understood that 
an ambiguous declaration from Great-Britain, similar 



so HISTORY or THE WAR. 

to that of the French minister, would have been ac- 
ceptable to them. But, sir, is it consistei.t with the 
ditrnity ot a nation that respects itselt, to speak in aro^ 
!S language? The subjects and crtizens of 
.,,.,-. rounlrv would in tie end be the vielinis, as 
many are aheady, in all probability, who fioma mis- 
construction of the meaning oi the French govern- 
meiit, have been ltd into the most imprudent s-jecu- 
]atioi;S. Such conduct would not be to proceed /;ffri 
passu wiih Fiance iu re\okii:g our Edicts, but to de- 
scend to the u.se of the j>er4i<iious and jug-alinij con- 
trivances of her cabinet, i y which she fills her coders 
at the ex{>ense of independent: natiois. A similar 
conslrucl.on of proceeding- pari passu might lead to 
such Decrees a^ those of Kanibouillet, or oi Bayonne, 
to the system of exclusion or of licences, ail mea-ures 
ot Fiai.ce figaintrt the ^American ccn merce, is noth- 
ing short ot absolute host'ilitv. 

Ii )s rrL^ed that i.o MSsel has been condemned by 
the tribunals of France, oi. the pni:ci[les of her De- 
crees since the 1st ol November. You allow, how- 
ever, that there have oeci. some detained since that 
f enod, aiio that such j art of the cargoes as consisted 
ot gwids not the j>roduce of America, was seized, and 
the oii;ei pa;t, together with the \es«^el it«elf, onlv re- 
leased aber the President's proclamatic.n become 
k owa in France. These circum;>tances sarel) , only 
p o\e thediihculty that France is under in reconcil- 
ing lier anti-f onjmercial and anti-neutral system, wilh 
her desire to express her satistactioii at the intasores 
t'dken ill America against the commerce of Circ.it- 
Entaiii. bhe seizes in virtue of the Berlin and Milvin 
Decrees, but she makes a partial restoration for the 
j>nr^«oSe of deceiving America. 

1 have now toilov*ed you, I believe, sir, through the 
whole range ol your argument, and on reviewingthe 
course oi it, 1 tLunk I may secuiely say that no satis- 
fa<:tr>ry jjroot ha* yet been l^ou-^ht loiward of tl e re- 
peal of the oIj noxious Decrees of France, but on the 
contrary, that it ap[earj» thty continue m lull force. 



ITLSTORY OF THE WAR. 61 

consequently that no grounds exist on wliich vou can, 
with justice, demancl of Great-Britain a revocation 
of her Orders in Couiicil ;-r-that we have u right to 
complain of the conduct of the American ofovernment, 
in enforcing' the provisions of the act of May, l>ilO, 
totlie exchision of tlie British trade, and aftei wards 
ill obtaining a special hiw for the saint- purpt>se, tlioujih 
it was notorious at the time that Fran«"e still continu- 
ed her aggressions upon American commerce, and 
had recentlv promulgated aijew her De<Tves, suffer- 
ing no trade from this country, but ihiough licences 
pubhcly sohl by her agent, a.jd that all the supposi- 
tions vou have formt d of innovations on the part ot 
Great-Britain, or of her pretensions to tra«le with V.er 
enemies are wholly groundless. I have aNo stated to 
you the view his ^l.iiesty's goveriHueat has taken oi 
the question of the lilockade of May, 180G, audit 
now only remains that I urge afresh the injustice ot 
tlie United States' go> eminent persevering in then- 
union with the French system for the purpose of 
crushing the commerce of Great-Britain. 

From every co.isideration which t-quity, good poli- 
cy or interest can suggest, there ap;iears to he snch 
a cnll upon America to give up this system, wliich 
favors France, to the injury of Great-Britain, that I 
cannot, however little satisf iclory your communica- 
tions are, as yet abandon all hopes thai even before 
the Congress meet, a new view may i»e taken of the 
subject by the President, which will lead to a more 
happy result. 

I have the h»>nor to be, with very high considera- 
tion and respect, sir, your most obedient humble ser- 

AUGUSTCS J. FOSTER 

To the JioH. James Monroe, ^'c. 



52 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Mr, Monroe to Mr. Foster. '^ ^ 

DEPART3IENT OF STATE, July 27lll, 1811. 

SIR, 

1 had the honor to receive your letter of yesterday *s 
date, in time to submit it to the view of the President 
before he left town. 

It was my object to state to you in my letter of the 
23d inst. that under existing circumstances, it was 
impossible for the President to terminate the operation 
of the non-importation law of the 2d of March last ; 
that France having- excepted the proposition made 
by a previous law equally to Great-Britain and to 
France, and having revoked her Decrees, violating- 
ourneulral rights, and Great-Britain having declined 
to revoke hers, it became the duty of this government 
to fultil its engagement, and to declare the non-impor- 
tation law in force against Great-Britain. 

This state of affan's has not been sought by the 
United States. When the proposition, contained in 
the law of May 1st, 1810, was offered equally to both 
powers, there was cause to presume that Great-Bri- 
tain would have accepted it, in which event the non- 
importation law would not have operated against 
her. 

It is in the power of the British government at this 
time to enable the President to set the non-importa- 
tion law aside, by rendering to the United States an 
act of justice. If Great-Britain will cease to violate 
ouriicutial rights by revoking her Orders in Coun- 
cil, on which event alone the President has the pow- 
er, I am instructed to inform you that he will, without 
delay, exercise it by terminating the operation of this 
law. 

It is presumed that the communications which I 
huNe had the honor to make to you, of the revocation 
by France of her Decrees, so far as they violated the 
neutral rights of the United States, and of her con- 
duct since the revocation, will present to your gov- 
ernment a dillerent view of the subject, from that 



HISTORY OF THE WAll. 53 

which it had before taken, and produce in its coun- 
cils a correspondent effect. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 
(Signed) JAMES MONROE. 

Augustus J. Foster Esq. ^c. 



Mr. Monroe to Mr. Foster. 

SIR, 

I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 
26th of July, and to submit it to the view of the 
President. 

In answering- that letter, it is proper that I should 
notice a complaint that I had onntted to reply in 
mine of the 2od of July, to your remonstrance against 
the proclamation of the President, of INovember last, 
and to the demand which you had made, by order of 
your government of the repeal of the non-importation 
act of March 2d, of the present year. 

My letter has certainly not merited this imputation. 

Having shewn the injustice of the British govern- 
ment in issuing- the Orders in Council on the pretext 
assigned, and its still greater injustice in adhering to 
theui after that pretext had failed, a respect for Great- 
Britain, aj well as for the United States, prevented 
my placing in the strong light in which the sulyect 
naturally presented itself, the remonstrance alluded 
to, and the extraordinary demand founded on il, that 
while your government accouiuiodated in nothing, 
the United States should relinquish the ground, which 
by a just regard to the public rights and honor, they 
had been compelled to take. Propositions tendmg 
to degrade a nation can never be brought into discus- 
sion by a government not prepared to submit to the 
degradation. It was for this reason that I confined 
my reply to those passages in your letter, which in- 
volved the claim of the United States, on the princi- 
pltis ©r justice, to the revocation of the Orders in 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 



Council. Your demancl, however, was neither nn- 
noticed or unanswered. In laying before you the 
complete, and as was believed, irresistible proof on 
which the United Stales expected, and called for the 
revocation of the Orders in Council, a very explicit 
answer was supposed to be given to that demand. 

Equally unfounded is your complaint that I mis- 
understood that passage which claimed, as a condi- 
tion of the revocation of the Orders in Council, 
tnat the trade of Great-Britain with the continent 
should be restored to the state in which it was before 
the Berlin and Milan Decrees were issued. As this 
pretension was novel and extraordinary, it was neces- 
sarv that a distinct idea should be formed of it, and 
w ith that view, I asked such an explanation as would 
enable me to form one. 

In the explanation given, you do not insist on the 
right to trade in British property, with British vessels, 
directly with your enemies. Such a claim, you ad- 
mit, would be preposterous. But you do insist by 
necessary implication, that France has no rig-ht to 
inhibit the the importation into her ports of British 
manufactures, of the produce of the British soil, when 
the property of neutrals ; and that, until France re- 
moves that inhibition, tlie United States are to be 
cut off by Great-Britain from all trade whatever, with 
her enemies. 

On such a pretension it isalmost impossible to rea-^ 
son. There is I believe, no example of it in the hts- 
torv of past wars. Great-Britain, the enemy of France 
undertakes to regulate the trade of France ; nor is that 
all ; she tells her that she must trade in British goods. 
If France and Great- Britain were at peace, this pre- 
tension would not be set up, nor even thought of. 
Has Great-Bntam then acquired in this respect by 
war, rights which she has not in |ieace ? And does 
she announce to neutral nations, that unless they con- 
sent to become the instruments of this policy, their 
commerce shall be anniliilaled, and their vessels 
aiiall be shut up in then- own poi'ts ? 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 55 

I might ask whether French g-oods are admited in* 
to (j real-Britain, even in peace, and if they are, whe- 
tlier it be of ^ig^)t, or by the consent and policy of 
the British government ? 

That the propeity woiild \ye neutralized does not 
effect the question. If the United States have no right 
to carry their own productions into France without 
the consent of the French government, how can they 
undertake to carry there those of Great-Britain ? h\ 
all cases it must depend on the interest and tne 
will of the party. 

Nor is it material to what extent, or by ^^hat pow- 
ei's, the trade to the contment is prohibited. If the 
powers who prohibit it, are at war with Great Britain, 
the prohibition is a necessary consequence of that 
state. If at peace, it IS their own act; and whether 
it be volunt;»rv, or compulsive, they alone are answer- 
able for it. It the act be luken at the instio^ation 
and under the influence of France, the most that can 
be said, is, that it justifies reprisal agaifist them, by a 
similar measure On no principle whatever can it 
be said to give any sanction to the conduct of Great* 
Britnin towards neutral nations. 

The United Stales can have no objection to the 
employment of their commercial capital in the sup- 
ply of France, and of the continent generallv, with 
manufactures, and to comprise in the supply those of 
Gi'ent-Britain, provided those powers will consent to 
it. But they cannot nndertake to force such 
supplies on France or on any other power, in com- 
pliance with the claim of the British government, on 
principles incompatible with the rights of every imle- 
pemient nation, and they Mill not demand in favor of 
another power, wiiat they canuot claim for them- 
selves. 

All that Great-Britain could with reason complain 
of, was the inhil)ition by the French Decrees, of the 
lawful trade of neutrals, with the British dominions. 
As soon as that inhibition ceased, her inhiltition ot 
our trade with France ouglkl in like .nanner to have 



56 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

ceased, Having- pledged herself to proceed part 
passu with France, in the revocation of their respective 
acts viohiting' neutral rights it has afforded just cause 
of complaint, and even of astonishment, to the Unit- 
ed States, that the Bntish government shouhl have 
sanctioned the seiz.ure and condemnation of Ameri- 
can vessels under the Orders in Council after the revo- 
cation of the French Decrees was a?inounced, and 
even in the very moment when your mission, avowed 
to be conciliatory, was to have its effect. 

I will only add tliat had it a])peared finally, that 
France had failed to perform her engagements, it 
might at least have been expected, that (ireat-Bri- 
tain would not have molested such of the vessels of the 
United States as mightbe entering- the ports of France, 
on the faith of both governments, till that failure was 
clearly proved. 

To many insinuations in vour letter I make no re-, 
ply, because they sufficiently suggest the only one 
that would be proper. 

If it were necessary to dwell on the impartiality, 
which has been observed by the United States tow- 
ards the two belligerents, I nnght ask, whether if 
Great-Britain had accepted the eo)idition which \vas 
offered equally to her and Fiance, by the act of May. 
1st, 1810, and PVance had rejected it, there is cause 
to doubt that the non-importation act would have been 
carried into effect against France ? IVo such doubt 
can possibly exist because m afonner instance, when 
this government, trusting to a tulfilment l)y yours of 
an arrangement which put an end to a non-inter-, 
course with Great-Britain, the non-intercourse was„ 
continued against France, who had not then repe. ltd 
her Decrees as it was not doubted England had done. 
Has it not been repeatedly declated to your govern- 
ment that if Grtat-Britain would re\oke her Orders 
in Council, the President would immediately cause 
the non-imporlation to cease ? You well know that, 
the same declaration has often bten made to yourself, . 
f»nd th:it iHvlhinir more is waulintr to the removal of 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 57 

the existing obstructions to the commerce between 
the two countries, than a satisfactory assurance, which 
will be received with pleasure from yourself, that the 
Orders in Council are at an end. 

By ihe remark in your letter of the 3d of July, that 
the blockade of May, 180G, had been included in the 
more comprehensive system of the Orders in Council 
of the following } car, and that, if that blockade should 
be continued in force after the repeal of the Orders in 
Council, it would be in consequenceof the special ap- 
plication of a sufficient naval force, I could not but in- 
fer your idea to be, that the repeal of the Orders in 
Council vvould necessarily involve the re|)eal of thti 
blockade of May. J uas the more readily induced to 
make this inference, from the consideration that if the 
blockade was not revoked by the repeal of the Orders iii 
Council, there would be no necessity for giving notice 
that it would be continued ; as by the further considera- 
tion, that according' to the decision of your court of ad- 
miralty, a blockade instituted by proclamation does not 
cease by the removal of the lorce applied to it, nor 
without a formal notice by the government to that 
effect. 

It is not, however, wished to discuss any question 
relative to the mode by which that blockade may be 
terminated. Its actual termination is the material ob- 
ject for consideration. 

It is easy lo shew, and it has already been abund- 
antly shown, that the blockade of IMay, VS()6, is in- 
consisltnt on any view that may be laken of it with 
the law of nations. It is also easy to show that, as 
now expounded, it was equally inconsistent with the 
sense of your government, when the order w as issued ; 
and this change is a sufficient reply to the remarks 
which you have applied to me personally. 

If you will exauiine the order, you will find that it is 
strictly, little more than a blockade of the coast from 
the Seine to Ostend. There is an express reserva- 
tion in it in favor of neutrals to any part of the coast 
between Brest and the Feihe, and between Ostend 
S 



58 HISTORY OF THE WAK., 

and the Elbe. Neutral powers are permitted by it ic; 
take from their own ports every kind of produce 
without distinction as to its orig^in ; and to carry it to 
the continent under that limitation, and with the ex- 
ception only of contraband of war, and enemy's prop- 
erly, and to bring thence to their own ports in return, 
whatever articles they think fit. Why were contra- 
band of war and enemy's property excepted, if a 
commerce even in those articles would not otherwise 
have been permitted under the reservation ? No or- 
der was necessary to subject them to seizure. They 
were liable to it according to the law of nations, as 
asserted by Great-Britain. 

Why then did the British government institute a 
blockade which with respect to neutrals was not rig- 
orous as to the greater part of the coast comprised in 
it ? Il you will look to the state of things which then 
existed between the United States and Great-Britain, 
you will find the answer. A controversy had taken 
place between our governments on a different topic, 
which was still pending. The British government 
had interfered wiih the trade between France and her 
allies in the produce of their colonies. The just 
claim of the United States was then a subject of ne- 
gotiation ; and your government professing its wil- 
Imgness to make a satisfactory arrangement of it, is- 
sued the Order which allowed the trade, without 
making any concession as to the principle, reserving 
that for adjustment by treaty. It was in this light that 
I viewed, and in this sense that I represented that or- 
der to my government; and in no other did I make 
any comment on it. 

Whenyou reflectthat this order by allowing the trade 
of neutrals, in colonial productions, to all that portion 
of the coast which was not rigorously blockaded, af- 
forded to the United States an acconmiodation in a 
principal pointthen at issue between our governments, 
and of which then- citizens extensively availed them- 
selves that that trade and the question of blockade, 
and every other question in which the United Stales 



HISTORY OF THE WAR, 59 

and Great-Britain were intereste<l, were tlien in a train 
of amicable neg^otialion, you will I think, see th^ 
cause whv the minister who then represented the 
United States with the British goveinment did not 
make a formal complaint against it. You have ap- 
pealed to me who happened to be that minister, and 
urg"ed my silence as an evidence of my ap])rol)ation of, 
or at least ac<(niesce in the blockade. — An explana- 
tion of the cause of that supposed silence is not less 
due to myself, than to the true character of tlie tians- 
actibn. With the minister with whom I had tiie hon- 
or to treat, I may add, that an official formal com- 
plaint was not likely to be resorted lo, because fritnd- 
ly communications were invited and prefered. The 
want of such a document is no proof that the meas- 
ure was approved by me, or that no complaint was 
made. In recalling* to my mind as this incident na- 
turally does, the manly character of that distinguisjied 
and illustrious statesmen, and the contidence with 
which he inspired all those with whom he had to treat, 
I shall be permitted to express as a slight tribute of 
respect to his memory, the very high consideration itl 
which I have always held his g^reat talents and virtues. 

The United States have not, nor can they approve 
the blockade of an extensive coast. Nothing" certain- 
ly can be infered from any thing that has passed rel- 
ative to the blockade of May, 180G, to countenance 
such an inference. 

It is seen with satisfaction that you still admit that 
the application of an adequate force is necessary to 
give a blockade a legal character, and that it will lose 
that character whenever that adequate force ceases to 
be applied. As it cannot be alledged that the appli- 
cation of any such adequate force has been continued, 
and actually exists in the case of the blockade of May, 
1806, it would seem to be a fair inference that the 
repeal of the Orders in Council will leave no insuper- 
able difficulty with respect to it. To suppose the contra- 
ry would be to suppose that the Orders in Council said 
to include that blockade, resting themselves ouaprin- 



t»0 HISTORY OF THE WAR, 

ciple of retaliation only, and not suslainetl by the ap- 
plication of an adequate force, would have the effect 
of sustaining a blockade admitted to require the ap- 
plication of an adequate force, until such adequate 
force should actually take the place of the Orders in 
Council. Whenever any blockade is instituted, it*, 
will be a subject for consideration, and if the blockr-i 
ade be in conformity to the law of nations, there wilt 
be no disposition in this government to contesit it. 
[ have the honor to be. Sec. 

(Signed) JAMES MONROE 

Augustus J' Foster, Esq. ^'c. 



Mr, Foster to Mr. Monroe, 

WASHINGTON, October 22, 1811. 
SIR, 

I had the honor to receive your letter of the 17th 
inst. together with its three enclosures, on the road, 
between Baltimore and this city ; I had that of re- 
ceiving at the same time, your letter dated October 1, 
in answer to mine of the 26th of last July. 

Not having had any despatches from his Majesty's 
Government lately, I have not as yet received the copy 
of the recent communication from Paris in regard to 
the supposed repeal of the French Decrees which the 
charge'd'afFairs of the United States at London, l»as 
intimated to you that he understood the Marquis 
"Wellesley intended to transmit to me, and which J 
conclude is the same as that contjiined in the letter of 
Mr. Russell, the Anterican Charge d' affairs \\\ 
France. I am however in daily expectation of the 
arrival of his Majesty's packet boat, when it will in 
all probability reach me, and when if I should receive 
any fresh instructions in consequence I will not fail 
immediately to acquaint you. In the meanwhile, 
boyvever, I beg you will permit me to make some re- 
marks in reply to your letter of October 1, being ex>. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 61 

Iremely anxious to do away the impression wlilch yon 
seem to have received relative to the demand I had- 
made for the repeal of the non-imporlalion act of the 
present year. 

It is, I assure you, sir, with very great regret that 
I liud you consider that demand as mvolving in any 
degree propositions tendnig to degrade your nation. 
Such an idea certainly never existed with his Majes- 
ty's Government, nor would it be com;)atible with the 
friendly sentiments entertained by lhcm,for the Unit- 
ed States ; neitlier could I have suffered myself to be 
the channel of co:.»>iying a demand which I thought 
had such a tendency. — However you view the de- 
mand made on the part of Great-Britain, I can safely 
say that it was made iti consequence of its appearing 
to his Majesty's Govermuent on strong evidence that 
the chief of the French nation had really deceived 
America as to the repeal of his Decrees and in the 
hopes that the United States' Government would there- 
fore see the justice of replacing this country on its 
former footing of amicable relations with England, 
nothing appearing to be more natural than such an ex- 
pectation, which seemed a necessary' consequence of 
the disposition expressed by America to maintain 
her neutrality, and desirable in every other point of 
view. I cannot indeed bring myself to think, sir, 
that your candor would allow you, 0:1 a consideration, 
to put any other construction on the matter, and had 
my arguments had sufficient weight with you in 
shewing that the French Decrees were still in force, 
I cansiot doubt but you would have agreed with me 
in the conclusion I drew — 'it would seem therefore 
only owing to your not viewing the deceitful conduct 
of the French government in the same light t!iat it ap- 
pears to his Majesty's government, that a difference of 
opinion exists between us as to the proposal [ made, 
^vhich under the conviction entertained by them was, 
surely a very just and nalural one. 

From the earnest desire of vindicating myself and 
rny government from the charge of making any de- 



62 HISTORY OP THE WAR^ 

grading" or unjust demands on that of America,! 
have taken the liberty to trouble you so far and I will 
now proceed to shew why I thought you had misuh- 
derstood the passage of my letter whicli related to the 
extent in which the repeal of the French Decrees was 
required by Great-Britain. In the explanation which 
you desired on this point I gave you that which the 
Marquis Wellesley gave to Mr. Pinkney in answer 
to his letter of August 25, 1810, and I beg to refer 
you to the message of the President of the United 
States on the opening of Congress in December, 1810, 
for a proof that the demand of Great-Britain in the 
extent in which I have stated it was known to your 
government several months ago — how was I there- 
fore to suppose in the term innovations, as applied to 
the explanation given by me, that you could mean 
otherwise than some really new pretension on the 
part of Great-Britain such as that France should suf- 
fer British property to be carried into her ports for 
the purposes of trade ? If the warmth I was betrayed 
into in endeavoring to refute a supposed imputation 
of this sort gave any offence, I sincerely regret it, and 
I will beg permission here to say, sir, that if uncon- 
sciously 1 have by any of my remarks led you to sup- 
pose they conveyed any improper insrinuations, as one' 
paragraph of your letter would appear to imply, I am 
most unfeignedly sorry for it, as I entertain the high- 
est resi>ect ibr you personally and for your govern- 
ment, and could only have meant what I wrote in the 
way of argument, or for the purpose of contrasting the. 
proceedings of France in her conduct towards the 
United States witii that of Great-Britain. 

In reverting to the extraordinary and unprecedent- 
ed situation of things that has arisen out of the war 
m Europe it would seem needless to repeat the evi- 
dence there is that the lawless and unbounded ambi- 
tion of the ruler of France has been the origin of it, 
aiid it cannot be a secret to the United States' govern- 
ment that his plan has been and avowedly continues 
to be, not to scruple at the violation of any law, pro- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. fS 

viiled he can thereby overthrow the maritime pow- 
er of Engrlaiul. Is it not tIw?refore reasonable in 
Great-Britain to distrust an ambiguous declaration of 
iis having- suddenly given up any part of a system 
which he thought calculated to produce such an ef* 
feet? You say however that the Decrees of Berlin 
and Milan are revoked. America as not being at 
war and therefore not seeing so clearly into the views 
of France, may be less scrupulous as to the evidence 
liecessary to prove the fact — but sir, it surely cannot 
be expected that Great-Britain, who is contending for 
everything that is dear to her, should not require more 
proof on a point so material to her. It is undoubtly a 
very desirable thing tor the United States to have a 
free and unrestricted trade with both belligerents, but 
the essential security and most important interests of 
America are not involved in the question as are those 
of Great-Britain. France has levelled a blow which 
she hopes will prove deadly to the resources of Great- 
Britain, and before the British government can witk 
safety give up the mea.sures of defence in consequence 
adopted by them, very strong proof must exist of the 
cessation by France of her novel and unprecedented 
measures. 

I confess, sir with the sincerest disposition to discover 
on the pait of the ruler of France a return to the long- 
established practice of warfare as exercised in civiliz- 
ed Europe, I have been unable to succeed; and if 
the French government had really meant to with- 
draw their obnoxious Decrees, it is inconceivable why, 
instead of allowing their intensions to be guessed at or 
inferred, they should not openly and in plain lan- 
guage have declared so ; the Decrees themselves hav- 
ing been clearly enough announced on their enact- 
ment, why should not their revocation be equally ex- 
plicit. 

While, however, numerous declarations have been 
made on the partof France of the continued existence 
ot the Decrees and ca[)tures made under them of neu- 
tral ships have occurred, a few of the American vessels 



04 HISTORY OF THE WAlR. 

seized since Novemljer 1, have been reslorecl, and the 
loreofoing, a very small part of his plunder, is desired 
by Bonaparte to be considered as a proof of the sin- 
cerity of his revocation by America ; but it must be 
recollected that besides the object of ruining the Bri- 
tish resources by his own unauthorised regulations, he 
hsis also that of endeavoring to obtain the aid of the 
United States for the same purpose, and herein you 
will, as I had the honor to remark in a former letter, 
])e able to observe the cause of the apparently contra, 
dictory language held both by himself and his min- 
isters. 

I shall be extremely happy, to receive from you, 
sir, the information that in a frank and unambiguous 
manner the chief of the French o•o^ ernment had re- 
voked his Decrees. Why he should not do so is in- 
explicable if he means to revert to the ordinary rules 
of war, but while lie exercises such despotic sway 
wherever his influence extends, to ruin the resources 
of England, it cannot be expected that Great-Britain 
shall not use the means she possesses for the pur[;ose of 
making him feel the pressure of his own system. 
There is every reason to believe that ere long the ef- 
fects on the enemies of Great-Britain will be such as 
irresistibly to produce a change wliich will place com- 
merce on its former basis. In the mean time, sir, I 
hope you will nut think it extraordinary if 1 should 
contend that the seizure of American ships by France, 
since November 1, and the positive and unqualified 
declarations of the French government are stronger 
proots of the continued existence of the French De- 
crees and the bad iailh of the ruler of France, than the 
restoration of five or six vessels, too palpably given 
-up for fallacious purposes or in testimony of his satis 
faction at tlie attitude taken by America, isa| roof of 
their rev ocation, or of his return to the principles of 
justice. 

1 will only repeat, sir, in answer to your observa- 
tions, on the late condemnation of the ships taken un- 
•ler his Majesty's Ord»^rs in Council, what I have 



JftlSTORY OF THE \VA^. 6^ 

already had the honor to state to 3 ou, that the delay 
vhich took place in their condemnation was not in 
consequence of any doubt existing- in Ins Majesty's 
g-overnment, as to whether the French Decrees were 
revoked, as you seem to imagine, hut in consequence 
of its being thought that the American government, 
upon its a[)peanng that tliey were deceived by France, 
wouUl have ceased tl;eir injurious measures against 
the British commerce. A considerable time elapsed 
before the decision took place on those ships, and 
(liere is no doubt, but that had the United States' gov- 
ernment not persisted in the unfriendly attitude to- 
wards Great-Britain on discovering the ill faith of 
France, a spirit of concihation in his Majesty's gov- 
ernment would have caused their release. 

In reply to your observations on the pretensions of 
Great-Britain relative to the revocation of the French 
Decrees, I beg to repeat that the sum of the demand 
made by England is, that France should follow the es- 
tablished lavAsof warfare as practised in former wars 
in Europe. Her ruler by his Decrees of Berlin and 
Milan declared himself no longer bound by them ; he 
has openly renounced them in his violent eftorts to 
Tuin the resources of Great- Britain, and has trampled 
on the rights of independent nations to effect his pui- 
pose. If the French government make use of means 
of iniprecedented violence to prevent the intercourse 
of England with unoffending neutrals, can it be ex- 
pected that England should tamely suffer the estab- 
lishment of such anovel system of uar without retalia- 
tion, and endeavoring in her turn to prevent the 
French from enjoying the advantages of which she 
is unlawfully deprived ? 

Having explained already the situation in which 
the question of the blockade of May, 1806, rests, ac-' 
cording to the viewS;ofhis Majesty's government, and 
the desire of Great-Britain to conduct her system of 
blockade according to the laws of nations, I will only 
advert to it on this occasion for the purpose of taking 
the liberty of acknowledging to von tlie very great 
9 



66 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

pleasure I received from the highly honorable mark 
of respect which you have taken the occasion to ex- 
press for tiie illustrious statesman from whose counsels 
that measure emanated. 

1 need not repeat to you, sir, what sincere satisfac- 
tion it w ould give mc, if w ithout the sacrifice of the 
essential rights and interests of Great-Britain all the 
points in discussion between our two countries could 
be finally adjusted. 

I have the honor to be, with the highest considera- 
tion and respect, sir, yours, 

AUG. J. FOSTER. 
To the hon. James Monroe^ S^c. 



Adjustment of the affair of the Chesa- 
peake AND the Leopard. 



MESSAGE. 

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States. 

I communicate to Congress copies of a correspond- 
ence between the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
Plenipotentiary of Great-Britain and the Secretary of 
Slate, relative to the aggression committed by a Brit- 
ish Ship of war on the United States Frigate Chesa- 
peake, by which it w ill be seen that the subject of dif- 
ference between the two countries, is terminated by 
an ol^'er of reparation which has been acceded to. 

JAMES MADISON. 

JVashington, November 13, 1811. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 67 

Mr. Foster to Mr. Monroe. 

Washixgtox, October 30, 1811. 
SIR, 

I had already the honor to mention to you that I 
came to this country furnished with instructions from 
his Royal Hig-hness the Prince Reg^ent, in the name 
and on the behalf of his Majesty, for the purpose of 
proceeding' to a final adjustment of the differences 
which have arisen between Great-Britain and the 
United States of America in the affiiir of the Chesa- 
peake Frig-ate; and I had also thatuf acquainting-you 
with the necessity under which I found myself of sus- 
pending- the execution of those instructions in conse- 
quence of my not having perceived that any steps 
whatever were taken by the American government to 
clear up the circumstances of an event whicii threat- 
ened so materially to interrupt the harmony subsisting- 
between our two countries, as that which occurred in 
the month of last May, between the United States' 
Ship President, and his Majesty's Ship Little Belt, 
when every evidence before his Majesty's govern- 
ment seemed to shew that a most evident and wanton 
outrage had been committed on a British Ship of 
ivar by an American Commodore. 

A Court of Enquiry however, as you informed me 
in your letter of the 11th inst. has since been held 
\>y order of the President of the United States on the 
[conduct of Commodore Rodgers, and this prelimina- 
'y to further discussion on the subject being- all that I 
isked in the first instance as due to the friendship 
jubsisting between the two States, I have now the 
lonor to acquaint you that I am ready to proceed in 
he truest spirit of conciliation to lay before you the 
erms of reparation which his Royal Highness has 
commanded me to propose to the United States' gov- 
?rnment, and only wait to know when it will suit your 
convenience to enter upon the discussion. 



^^ HISTOUT OF tlTE WAR. 

1 have the honor to be, with the hig-hest considera- 
tion and respect, sir, your most obedient humble ser- 
vant, 

AUG. J. FOSTER. 
The 7wn. James Monroefkc. 



Mr. Monroe to Mr. Foster. 

Depari^ment of State, Oct. 31, 1811. 

1 have just had the honor to receive your letter 
of the 30th of this month. 

lam glad to tind that the communication which I 
liad the honor to make to you on the 11th inst relative 
to the Court of Enquiry, which was the subject of il, 
is viewed by you in the favorable light which you 
tave stated. 

Although I regret that the proposition which you 
now make in consequence of that communication, has 
l>een delayed to the present moment, I am ready 
to receive the terms of it whenever you may 
think proper to communicate them. Permit me to 
add, that the pleasure of finding them satisfactory will 
be duly augmented, if thev should be introductory to 
a removal of ALL the differences depending between 
our two countries, the hope of which is so little en- 
couraged by your past coirespondence. A prospect 
of such a result, will be embraced, on my part, with a 
spirit of conciliation, equal to that which has been ex- 
pressed by you. 

I have the honor to be, %lc, 
(Signed) JAMES MONROE, 

Aiifjustus J. Foster, Esq. SCc. 



filSTORY OF XmS WAJK. 69 

Mr. Faster to Mr. Di^nroe. 

Washington, Nov. 1st, 1811. 
SIR, 

In pursaance of the onlers which I hav-fe received 
tVom his Royal Hi^hries-i, the Prince Recent, in the 
name and on the behalf of h s Majestv, tor the pur- 
pose of proceeding to a tinal adjustment of the ditfer- 
ences which have arisen between Great-Britain and 
the United States, in the affair of the Chesapeake 
Frigate, I have the honor to acquaint vou — First, that 
I am instructed to repeat to the American govern- 
ment the prompt disaivowal made bv his Majesty, 
(and recited m Mr. Erskine's note of April 17, 1S<J9, 
to Mr. Smith,) on being apprised of the unanthonsed 
act of the officer m command of his naval forces oq 
the coast of America, whose recall from an highly 
important and honorable command immediatelv en- 
sued as a mark of his Majesty's disapprobation.' 

Secondly, that I am authorised to ofter, in addi- 
tion to that disavowal, on the part of his Roval High- 
ness, the immediate restoration, as far as circumstan- 
ces will admit, of the men who in consequence of 
Admiral Berkley's orders, were forciblv taken out of 
the Chesapeake, to the vessel from which they were 
taken ; or if that ship should be no longer in commis- 
sion, to such sea-port of the Uaited States as the 
American government may name for the purpose. 

Thirdly, that I am also "authorised to offer to the 
American government a suitable pecuaiarv provision 
for the sufferers in consequence of the attack on the 
Ciiesapeake, including the families of those seamen 
who unfortunately fell m action, aiid of the wounded 
survivors. 

These hanorable propositions, 1 can assure vou, 
sir, are m ule with the sincere desire thU they may 
prove satisfactory to the government of the United 
States, a.id I trust they will meet with that amicable 
reception which tha;r couciliatorv nature entitles 
them to. I need scarcely add how cordiallv I join 



70 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

with you in the wish that they might prove introduo^ 
tory to a removal of all the differences depending be- 
tween our two countries. 

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the high- 
est consideration and respect, sir, yours, &c. 

AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 

To the hon. James Monroe, S^c. 



Mr. Monroe to Mr. Foster. 

Washington, Nov. 12, 1811, 

SIR, 

I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 
1st November, and to lay it before the President. 

It is much to be regretted that the reparation due 
for such an aggression as that committed on the 
United States Frigate, the Chesapeake, should have 
been so long delayed ; nor could the translation of 
the offending officer from one command to another, 
be regarded as constituting a part of a reparation 
otherwise satisfactory ; considering however the ex- 
isting circumstances of the case, and the early and 
amicable attention paid to it by his Royal Highness 
the Prince Regent, the President accedes to the pro- 
position contained in your letter, and in so doing your 
government will, I am persuaded, see a proof of the 
conciliatory disposition by which the President has 
been actuated. 

The officer commanding the Chesapeake, now ly- 
ing in the harbor of Boston, will be instructed to re- 
ceive the men who are to be restored to that ship. 
I have the honor, &c. 

JAMES MONROE. 

Augustus J. Foster, Esq. ^c. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 71 

Mr. Monroe, to Mr. Foster. 

Department or State, Oct. 29, 1811. 
SIR, 

I have had the honor lo receive your letter of tlie 
22d of this month, and to lay it before the President. 

The assurance which you have given of your dis- 
position to reciprocate, in our communication on the 
important subjects depending between our govern- 
ments, the resj)ectful attention which each has a right 
to claim, and that no departure from it was intended 
in your letter of the 26th July, has been received with 
the satisfaction due to the frank, and conciliatory spirit 
in which it was made. 

I learn however, with much regret, that you have 
received no instructions from your government found- 
ed on the new proof of the revocation of the Berlin 
and Milan Decrees, which was communicated to the 
Marquis of Wellesley by the American charge d' af- 
fairs at London, in a document of which 1 had the 
honor to transmit to you a copy. It might fairly 
have been presumed, as I have before observed, that 
the evidence afforded by that document, of the com- 
plete revocation of those Decrees, so far as they in- 
terfered with the commerce of the United States with 
the British dominions, would have been followed by 
an immediate repeal of the Orders in Council. From 
the reply of the Marquis of Wellesley, it was at least 
to have been expected that no time had been lost in 
transmitting that document to you, and that the in- 
structions accompanying it would have manifested a 
change in the sentiments of your government on the 
subject. The regret therefore cannot but be increas- 
ed in tinding that the communication which I had the 
honor to make to you, has not even had the effect of 
suspending your efforts to vindicate the perseverance 
of your government in enforcing those Orders. 

I regret also to observe, that the light in which you 
have viewed this document, and the remarks which 
you have made on the subject, generallv, seems in 



72 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

preclude any other view of the conditions on which 
those Orders are to be revoked, than those that were 
furnished by your former communications. You still 
adhere to the pretension that the productions and man?', 
ufactures of Great-Britain, when neutralized, must be 
admitted into the ports of your enemies. This prcr 
tension however vague the language heretofore held 
by your government, particularly by the Marquis of 
Wellesley, in his communications with Mr. Pinkney, 
on tl.e subject, was never understood to have been 
embraced. Nothing, indeed short of the specific de- 
clarations which you have made, would have induced 
a belief that such was the case. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

(Signed) JAMES MONROE. 

Augustus J, Foster y ^c. 



3Ir. Foster to Mr. Monroe. 

Washington, Oct. 31st, 1811. 
SIR, 

1 did not reply at great length to the observations 
contained in your letter of the 1st inst. on the pre- 
tensions of Great-Britain as relative to tJie French 
system, because you seemed to nie to have argued as 
if but a part of the system continued, and even that 
part had ceased to be considered as a measure of war 
ai>amst Great-Britain. For me to have allowed this 
would have been at once to allow in the face of facts, 
that the Decrees of France were repealed, and that 
her unprecedented measures, avowedly pursued in 
defiance of the laws of nations, were hecome mere 
ordmary regulations of trade. I therefore thought 
fit to confine my answer to your remarks, to a gene- 
ral statement of the sum of the demands of Great- 
Britani, which was, that France should by eftectually 
revjiking her Decrees, revert to the usual method of 
• carrying on war as practised in civilized Europe. 



HISTORY OF THE AVAR. 78 

The pretensions of France to prohibit all conif 
merce in jU'ticles of British origin, in every part of 
the continent, is one among tlie nn^ny violent imiova- 
tions which are contamed in the Decrees, and Mhich 
are preceded by tlie declaration of their being found- 
ed on a delennination of the ruler of France, as he 
himself avowed, to revert to the principles wlncli 
ciiaractcrised the barbarism of tlie dark ages, and to 
forget all ideas of justice, and even the common feel- 
ings of humanity, in the new method of carrying on 
war ado[jted bv him. 

It is not however a cpiestion with Great-Britain 
of mere commercial interest, as you seem to sup- 
pose, which is involved in the attempt by Bo.iaparte 
to blockade her both by sea and land, but one of the 
feeling, and of national honor, contending as we do 
against the principles which he professes in his new 
system of warfare. It is impossible for us to submit 
to the doctrine that he has a right to compel the whole 
continent to break oti" all intercourse with us, and to 
seize upon vessels belonging to neutral nations upon 
the sole plea of their having visited an English port, 
or of their being laden with articles of British or co- 
lonial [)roduce, in whatsoever manner acquired. 

This preteiision, however, is but a part ot that sys- 
tem, the whole of which, under our construction of 
tlie letter of M. Champagny, of August 5, 1810, 
corroborated by many subsequent declarations of the 
French government, and not invalidated by any une- 
quivocal dechsration of a contrary tenor, must be con- 
sidered as stdl in full force. 

In the communication which you lately transmitted 
to me, I am sorry to repeat, that I was unable to dis- 
cover any facts which satisfactorily proved that the 
Decrees had been actually repealed, and I have al- 
ready repeatedly stated the reasons m hich too proba- 
bly led to the restoration of a few of the American 
ships taken in pursuance of the Berlin and Miian De- 
crees after November 1. Mr. Russell does not seem 
to deny that the Decrees may stiil be kept in force, 
10 



74 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 



only he thinks they have assumed a municipal char- 
acter ; but in M. Cliampagny's declaration, ambig^u- 
ous as it was, there is no such division of them into 
two different characters; for if the contingency re- 
quired by the French Minister took place, the Kerlin 
and Milan Decrees were to cease, according to his 
expression, without any qualification, h therefore a 
part of them remain, or be revived again, as seems 
to be allowed even here, why may not the whole be 
equally so ? Where proof can be obtained of their 
existence, we have it, namely, in the ports of France, 
in which vessels have been avowedly seized under 
their operation since Nov. 1. Of their maritime ex- 
istence we cannot so easily obtain evidence, because 
of the few French ships of war which venture to 
leave their harbors. W ho can doubt however that 
had the ruler of France a navy at his command, 
equal to the enforcing of his violent Decrees, he 
"would soon show that part of them to be no dead let- 
ter. The principle is not the less obnoxious because 
it is from necessity almost dormant for the moment, 
nor ought it therefore to be less an object to be stren-* 
wously resisted. 

Allow me, sir, here to express my sincere regret, 
that I have not as yet been able to convince you, by 
•what I cannot but consider the strongest evidence, of 
the continued existence of the French Decrees, and 
consequently of the unfriendly policy of your gov- 
ernment in enforcing the non-importation against us, 
and opening the trade with our enemies. His Royal 
Highness will, I am convinced, learn with unfeigned 
sorrow, that such continues to be still the determina- 
tion of America, and whatever restrictions on the 
commerce enjoyed by America in His Majesty's do- 
minions, may ensue on the part of Great-Britain, as 
retaliatory on the refusal by your government to ad- 
juitthe productions of Great-Brilain while they open 
their harbors to those of His Majesty's enemies, they 
will, I am persuaded, be adopted with sincere pain, 
and wiih pleasure relinquished whenever this country 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 75 

shall resume her neutral position and impartial attitude 
between the two belligerents. 

I have the honor to be, with the greatest considera- 
tion and respect, sir, your most obedient humble ser* 
vant, 

AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 

To the /torii J, Monroe, 8^c. 



CHAPTER II. 

The f of lowing Message was, on the 17 th January^ 
1812, transmitted by the President to both Houses 
of Congress. 

To the Senate and House of liepresentativcs of the 
United States. 

I communicate to Congress a letter from the Envoy 
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Great- 
Britam to the Secretary of State, with the answer of 
the latter. 

The continued evidence, afforded in this corres- 
pondence, of the hostile policy of the British gov- 
ernment against our national rights, strengthens the 
considerations recommending and urging the prepar- 
ation of adequate means for maintaining them. 

JAMES MADISON. 

Washington, Jan, 16, 1812. 



70 HISTORY or THE WAR, ' 

3Ir. Foster to Mr. Monroe. *■ 

Washington, Dec. 17, 1811. 
SIR, 

I (lid not mean to have written to you at this mo- 
ment on the subject of our late correspondence, but 
that I have had the mortification to perceive state- 
ments, circulated from hij^hly respectable sources, 
which give a view of the pretensions of Great- Britain 
relative to the United States not warranted by any of 
the letters which I hud the honor to address to you, 
and which, at a time when discussions are continuing' 
so important to the two countries might, if left unrec- 
fified, produce an effect highly to be lamented by both 
the American and British governments, inasmuch as 
by creating unnecessary irritation, they might throw 
obstacles in the way of a restoration of a friendly un- 
derstanding between them. 

I find it asserted, in the statement referred to, that 
I have, in the name of my government, demanded 
that the United States* government should pass a hiw 
for the introduction of British goods into the Ameri- 
can ports, and also that the United vStates should un- 
dertake to force France to receive into her harbors 
British maimfactures. 

I beg permission, sir, to declare that neither of 
these demands have been made by me, and that my 
meaning must not have been understood, if such was 
conceived to have been its import. I could not have 
denranded the passage of such a law as above stated, 
because my government does not pretend to interfere 
"with the internal government of a friendly poM er, nor 
did I mean to demand that America should force 
France to receive our manufactures. 

All I meant to say was, that the admission of 
French commerce while that of England has bee» 
excluded from the United States' ports, was regar- 
ded by Great-Britain as highly unfreindly i-i Amer- 
ica, and that a continuation of such policy would be 
retaliated upon by Great-Britain with similar re.stric- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. T7 

tjons on her part, which was so far merely an ofFering^ 
of like for like. Bat while the American non-impor- 
tation act excludes British trade from the United 
States' ports, it must be recollected that it goes still 
further and excludes also British armed ships from 
American ports, while it admits those of the enemies 
of Great-Britain. * A neutral nation is responsible 
for the equality of its rules of conduct towards the bel- 
ligerent powers' (to use the words of an American 
Secretary of State in the year 1796,) and therefore the 
part of the law which establishes an inequality was 
justly an object of more serious complamt on the part 
of Great-Britain. You are aware, sir, of the advan- 
tage which his IMajesly's enemies have derived from 
this state of inequality, which enables them, though 
possessing- no port in this hemisphere, cotitiniially to 
prey on the trade of his Majesty's subjects, secure of 
a refuge for their cruisers and their prizes. 

The prohibition of entry to his Majesty's ships un- 
der these circumstances might perhaps justify Great- 
Britain in asserting, that whatever reason she may 
have for repealing or modifying her Orders in Coun- 
cil, so as to lessen or entirely remove the pressure now 
unavoidably laid on the trade of America as a neu- 
tral nation, she might }et refuse to enter into any dis- 
cussion oil that subject with the United States, until 
either by the revocation of the prohibition above stat- 
ed, or the placing all the belligerents under the same 
prohibition, America should cease ta violate the du- 
ties of a neutral nation. 

With respect, however, to the supposed demand 
that America should force the entry of British manu- 
factures into France, it is most particularly necessary 
that I should explain myself, as a total misconception 
appears to have taken place upon this point. The ques- 
tion of retaliation on the French Decrees is directly 
one between England and France. In consequence 
of the extraordinary blockade of England, we have in 
our defence been obliged to blockade France, and 
prohibit all trade in French articles yd return for the 



78 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

prohibition by France of all trade in English articles. 
This measure of retaliation, it is wished, should oper- 
ate on France alone, but from the trade carried on 
•with France by America, it unavoidably operates also 
on her; it is a measure to destroy the French trade 
in return for the similar measure of France on which 
it is retaliatory, and its acting- on neutrals is an inci- 
dental effect of it, consequent upon the submission of 
neutrals to the original measures of the enemy against 
Great-Britain. It is mdeed melancholy that the unna- 
tui-al situation of Europe should produce such a re- 
sult, but I cannot see how this can be considered as 
war on American commerce when all other Ameri- 
can trade but that which is carried on with our en- 
emy's ports in defiance of a blockade authorized by 
the laws of retaliation is unaffected by it. We com- 
plain that America does not resist the regulations of 
theBerhn and Milan Decrees, and object to permit- 
ting the French to trade with her during their con- 
tinuance agamst the commerce of England ; but this 
is not exacting, as has been represented, that Ameri- 
ca should force British manufactures into France ; it 
is pursuing only a just course of retaliation on our 
enemy. If America wishes to trade with France, if 
French commerce is of importance to her — we expect 
she should exact of France to trade with her as she has a 
right to demand in her quality of neutral ; but if she does 
not choose to exercise this right, all we ask is, that she 
should abstain from lending her assistance to the trade 
of France, and not allow her commerce to be a medi- 
um of undermining the resources of Great-Britain. 

I have thought it necessary thus to endeavor to 
set these two pouUs in their true light : the repeal of 
the law was asked, as being an unfriendly measure, 
partial in its operation against Great-Britain, and a 
prospect of retaliation was held out on its commer- 
cial operation if continued. This is no demand on 
the United States to admit British manufactures ; 
they are at liberty to continue that law, only as it is of 
an unfriendly nature, some restiiction of a similar 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 79 

kind was to be expected from England : and with 
respect to the alledged demand for forcing British 
goods, the property of neutrals, into French ports, if 
the United States are willing to acquiesce in the regu- 
lations of the French Decrees unlawfully aftecting' 
England through them, tliey cannot surely be surpris- 
ed if we consider ourselves as at liberty to refuse per- 
mission to the French to profit by that acquiescence. 

I will now, sir, take the opportunity of staling to you, 
that I have received from his Majesty's Secretary of 
State, the correspondence of which you did me the 
honor to transmit to me a copy in }our letter dated 
Oct. ]7. My govenmieut have not been able to see 
in it satisfactory proof of the repealof the French De- 
crees, and doubt whether the trade carried on by li- 
cences between France and^Ainerica, will not be re- 
garded, even here, as proof of ihe continuation of them 
in their fullest extent, for if they viere to any extent 
repealed, to that extent at least no licence should be 
necessary, a licence being given to allow what, but 
for that licCiice, would be prohibited. 

The continued absence hitherto of any instrument 
by which the repeal has been effected, is a matter also 
of surprise, for if there were any fair dealing in the 
tra; saction, no reason can be given by Fraiice for not 
producing it ; it is very desirable that it should be 
produced, if such an instrument be in existence, in 
order that we may know to what extent the Decrees 
have been repealed, if they really have been so in 
any respect. Mr. Russell however, does not appear 
to have been in possession of it at the date of his letter 
of last July. It is indeed become particu arly inter- 
esting, that we should see this instrument smce the 
publication of Mr. Russell's correspondence with his 
own government, bv which it appears that really, aiid 
in fact the French government did not release any 
American ships taken afser jNovember 1, until they 
had become acquainted with the President's Proclama-^ 
tion, and that vessels have been taken so late as De- 
cember 21, in the direct voyage irom this couiiliy tp 



&) HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

London ; for until a copy of such instrument is pro» 
duced, it is impossible to know whether any other 
trade is allowed by France than that between her owa 
dominions and the ports of the United States. 

I have the honor to be, with the hig^hest considera- 
tion, sir, your most obedient humble servant, 

AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 

To the hon. James Monrvet 6lc. 



Mr. 3Ionroe to Mr. Foster. 

Department of State Jan. 14, 1812. 
SIR. 

1 have had the honor to receive your letter of De- 
cember 17th, and I embrace the tirst moment that I 
could command, to make the observations which it 
suggests. 

It would ha^ve afforded great satisfaction to the 
President, to have found in the communication, some 
proof of a dispositionin the British governmentto put 
ail end to the differences subsisting between our 
countries. — I am sorry to be obliged to state, that it 
presents a new proof only of its determination to ad- 
here to the policy, to which they are imputable. 

You complain that the import of your former letters 
has been misunderstood in two important circumstan- 
ces : that you have been represented to have demand- 
ed of the United States, a law for the introduction of 
British goods into their ports, and that tiiey should al- 
so undertake to force France to receive British manu- 
factures into her harbors. 

You state that on the first point, it was your inten- 
tion only to remonstrate against the non-importation 
act, as partial \\\ its operation, and unfriendly to Great- 
Britain, on which account its repeal was claimed, and 
to intimate lliat if it was persevered in, Great-Britain 
would be compelled to retaliate on the commerce of 
the United States, by similar restrictions on her part. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. S\ 

And on the second point, that you intended only to 
urge, that in consequence of the extiaordiiirry bh ck- 
adeof England, your government had been obliged 
to blockade France, and to prohibit all trade in 
French articles, in return for the prohibition by 
France of all trade in English articles. 

It is sufficient to remark on the first point, that on 
whatever ground the repeal of the non-impoilation act 
is required, the United States are justitied in adher- 
ing to it, by the refusal of the British government to 
repeal its Orders in Council; and if a distinction is 
thus produced between Great-Britain and the other 
belligerent, it must be referred to the difl'erence in the 
conduct of the two parties. 

On the second point, I have to observe that the ex- 
planation given cannot be satisfactory, because it does 
not meet the case now existing. France did, it is true, 
declare a blockade of England, against the trade of 
the United States, and prohibit all tiade in English 
articles on the high seas, but this blockade and prohi- 
bition no longer exist. — It is true also, that a part of 
those Decrees, did prohibit a tradein English articles, 
within her territorial jurisdiction ; but this prohibition 
violates no national rights, or neutral commerce of 
the United States. Still your blockade and prohibi- 
tion are continued, in violation of the national and neu- 
tral rights of the United States, on a pretext of retalia- 
tion, which, if even applicable could only be applied 
to the former, and not to the latter interdicts : and it is 
required that Finance shall change her internal regu- 
lations against English trade, before England will 
change her external regulations against the trade of 
the United Stales. 

But you sliil insist that the French Decrees are un- 
revoked, cuid urge in proof of it, a fact drawn from 
IMr. liusseli s correspondence, that some American 
vessels have been taken since the 1st of November, in 
their route to England. It is a satisfactory answer to 
this remark, that it appears by the same correspon- 
dence, that every American vessel whirh had bc^n 
IJ 



S2 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

taken in that trade, Ihe seizure of whicb rtsted on the 
Berlin and Milan Decrees only, were, as soon as that 
fact was ascertained, delivered up to their owners* 
Might there not be other gound also, on which seiz- 
ures might be made ? Great-Britain claims a right to 
seize for other causes, and all nations admit it in the 
case of contraband of war. If bv the law of nations, 
one belligerent has a right to seize neutral property 
in any case, the other belligerent has the same right. 
Nor ought I to overlook that the practice of counter- 
feiting American papers in England, which is well 
known to the continent, has by impairing the faith due 
to American documents, done to the United States 
essential injury. Against this practice the minister of 
the United Stales at London, as will appear by refer- 
ence to his letter to the Marquis Wellesley ot the 3d 
of May, 1810, made a formal representation, in pur- 
suance of instructions from his government, with an 
offer of every information possessed by him, which 
might contribute to detect and suppress it. It is pain- 
ful to add that this communication was entirely dis- 
regarded. That Great-Britain should complain of 
acts in France, to which by her neglect, she was in- 
strumental, and draw from them proof in sjipport of 
her Orders in Council, ought certainly not to have 
been expected. 

You remark also, that the practice of the Frenclt 
goveniment to grant licences to certain American 
vessels, engaged in the trade between the United 
States and France, is an additional proof that the 
French Decrees still operate in their fullest extent. 
On what principle this inference is drawn from that 
fact it is impossible for me to conceive. It was not 
the object of the Berlin and Mdan Decrees to pro- 
hibit the trade between the United States and France, 
They w ere meant to prohibit the trade of the United 
States with Great-Britain, which violated our neutral 
rights, and to prohibit the trade of Great-Britain with 
the continent, with which the United States have 
nothing to do. If the object had been to prohibit the 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 83 

trade between the United States and France, Great- 
Britain could never have found in them any pretext 
for complaint. And if the idea of retaliation, could 
in any respect have been a|)plioable, it would have 
been by prohibiting- our trade with herself. To pro- 
hibit it with France, would not have been a retaliation, 
but a co-operation. If licencing by France the trade 
in certain instances, prove any thing, it proves nothing 
more than that the trade with France in other 
instances, is under restraint. It seems impossible to 
extract from it in any respect, that the Berlin and Mi- 
lan Decrees are in force, so far as they prohibit the 
trade between the United States and England. I 
might here repeat the French practice of granting li- 
cences to trade between the United States and France, 
may have been intended in part, at least as a security 
against the simulated papers ; the forging of which 
was not suppressed in England. It is not to be in- 
fered from these remarks, that a trade by licence, is 
one with which the United States are satisfied. They 
have the strongest objections to it, but these are found- 
ed on other principles, than those suggested in your 
note. 

It is a cause of great surprise to the President, that 
your government has not seen in the corres[)ondence 
of Mr. Russell, which I had the honor to commu- 
nicate to you on the I7th of October last, and which 
has been lately transmitted to you by your govern- 
ment, sufficient proof of the repeal of the Berlin and 
M.Ian Decrees, independant of the conclusive evi- 
dence of the fact, which that correspondence afford- 
ed ; it was not to be presumed from the intimation of 
the Marquis of Wellesley, that if it was to be trans- 
mitted to you, to be taken into consideration in the 
depending discussions, that it was of a nature to have 
no weight in these discussions. 

The demand which you now make of a view of the 
order given by the French government to its cruiz- 
ers, in consequence of the repeal of the French De- 
crees, is a new proof of its indisposition to repeal the 



81 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Orders in Council. The declaration of the French 
o-overnmeut was, as has been heretofore observed, a 
solemn and obligatory act, and as such entitled to the 
TiotK e and respect Oi other governments. It was m- 
cumbenton Great- Britain, therefore, ni iulhhnent ot 
her engagement, to have provided that her Orders m 
Cv>unnUliould not have effect, after the time fixed ior 
the cessation of the French Decrees. A pretension 
m Greal-Biitain to keep her Orders m lorce till she 
received satisfaction of the practical compliance ot 
France, is utterly incompatible with her pledge. A 
doubt, founded on any smgie act, however unauthor- 
ised, committeil by a French privateer, might, on that 
principle, become a motive ior delay and refusal. A 
suspicion that such acts would be committed might 
have the same effect ; and in like manner her compli- 
ance might be withheld as long at the war continued. 
But let me here remark, that if there was room tor a 
question, whether the French repeal did, or did not 
take effect, at the date announced by France, and 
required by the United States, it cannot be alledged 
that the Decrees have not ceased to operate since the 
2d of February last, as heretofore observed. And as 
the actual cessation of the Decrees to violate our neu- 
tral rights, was the only essential fact in the case, and 
has long been known to your government, the Orders 
in Council, from the date of that knowledge, ought to 
have ceased, according to its own principles and 

pledges. -, 

But the question whether and when the repeal ot 
the Berlin and Milan Decrees took effect in relation 
to the neutral commerce of the United States, is super- 
ceded by the novel and extraordinary claim of Great- 
Britam to a trade m British articles, with her enemy ; 
for supposing the repeal to have taken place, in the 
fullest extent claimed by the United States, it could 
according to that claim, have noeffect in removing the 
Orders in Council. 

On a full view of the conduct of the Bntish gov- 
ernment in these transactions, it is impossible to see 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 85 

in it any tiling short of a spirit of determined hostility to 
the rights and interests of the United Stales.— It issned 
the Orders in Council, on a principle of retaliation on 
France, at a time when it admitted the French Decrees 
to be ineifectual; it lias sustained those Orders in full 
force since, notwithstanding* the pretext for them has 
been removed, and latterly it has added a new condition 
of their repeal, to be performed by France, to which the 
United States in then" neutral character, have no claim; 
and could not demand, without departing from their 
neutrality, a condition which, in respect to the com- 
merce of other nations With Great-Britain, is repug- 
nant to her own policy, and prohibited by her own 
laws, and which can never be enforced on any nation 
without a subversion of its sovereignty and indepen- 
dence. 

I have the honor to be, Sec. 

JAxMFS MONROE 
Augustus J. Foster, SCc. 



CHAPTER III. 

PRESIDENT'S MANIFESTO. 

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
tuited States. ' 

I communicate to Congress certain documents, be- 
ing a continuation of those heretofore laid before 
them, on the subject, of our affairs with Great-Britain. 

Without going back beyodd the renewal in 1803, 
of the war in which Great-Britain is engaged, and omit- 
ting unrepaired wrongs of inferior magnitude, the 
conduct of her government presents a series of acts 
hostile to the United States as an independent and 
neutral nation. 



-86 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

British cruizers have been in the continued prac- 
tice of violating- the American flag-, on the great 
highway of nations, and ofseizingandcarrying-off per- 
sons sailing under it: not in the exercise of a belli- 
gerent right, founded on the law of nations against 
an enemy, but of a municipal prerogative over Bri- 
tish subjects. British jurisdictioii is thus extended to 
neutral vessels in a situation where no laws can op- 
erate but the law of nations and the laws of the coun- 
try to which the vessels belong ; and a self redress is 
assumed, which, if British subjects were wrongtully 
detained and alone concerned, is that substitution of 
force for a resort to the responsible sovereign, which 
falls within the definition of war. Could the seizure 
of British subjects, in such cases be regarded as with- 
in the exercise of a belligerent right, the acknowl- 
edged laws of war,^ which forbid an article of captur- 
ed property to be adjudged, without a regular investi- 
gation before a competent tribunal, would imperious- 
ly demand the fairest trial wiiere the sacred rights of 
persons were at issue. In place of such a trial, these 
rights are subjected to the will of every petty com- 
mander. 

The practice, hence, is so far from affecting British 
subjects alone, that under the pretext of searcliing for 
these, thousands of American citizens, under the safe- 
guard of public law, and of their national flag, have 
been torn from their country, and trom every thing- 
dear to them; have been dragged on board ships of 
war of a foreign nation, and exposed under the sever- 
ities of their discipline, to be exiled to the most dis- 
tant and deadly climes, to risk their lives in the bat- 
tles of their oppressoi-s, and to be the melancholy in- 
struments of taking away those of their own brethren. 

Against this crying enormity, which Great-Britain 
would l)e so prompt to avenge if committed against 
herself, the United Stales have in vain exhausted re- 
monstrances and expostulations. And that no proof 
might be wanting of their conciliatory dispositions, 
and no pretext left for the continuance of the practice. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. ft7 

the British government was formally assured of the 
readiness ot" the United Slates lo enter into arrange- 
ments, such as could not be rejected, if the recovery 
of British subjects were the real and the sole object. 
The communication passed without effect. 

British cruizers have been in the practice also of 
violating the rights and the peace of our coasts. They 
hover over and harrass our entering and departing 
commerce. To the most insulting pretensions they 
have added the most lawless proceedings in our very 
harbors ; and have wantonly spill American blood 
within the sanctuary of our territorial jurisdiction. 
The principles and rules enforced by that nation, when 
a neutral nation, against armed vessels of belliger- 
ents hovering near her coasts, and disturbing her 
commerce are well known. When called on never- 
theless, by the United States to punish the greater 
offences committed by her own vessels, her govern- 
ment has bestowed on [hew commanders additional 
marks of honor and confidence. 

Under pretended blockades, without the presence 
of an adequate force, and sometimes without the prac- 
ticability of applying one, our commerce has been 
plundered in every sea : the great staples of our coun- 
try have been cut off from their legitimate markets; 
and a destructive blow aimed at our agricultural and 
maritime interests. In aggravation of these preda- 
tory measures, they have been considered as in force 
from the dates of their notification j a retrospective 
effect being thus added, as has been done in other 
important cases, to the unlawfulness of the course 
pursued. And to render the outrage the more signal, 
these mock blockades have been reiterated and en- 
forced in the face of official communications from the 
British government declarinoc as the true definition of 
a legal blockade, * that particular ports must be ac- 
tually invested, and previous warning given to ves- 
sels bound to them, not to enter.' 

Not content witli these occasional expedients for 
laying waste our neutral trade., the cabinet of Great 



si HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Britain resorted, at Ien2:tb to the s\Aeeping system of 
blockades, under the name of the Orders in Council, 
which has been moulded and managed, as might best 
suit its political views, its commercial jealousies, or 
the avidity of British cruizei-s. 

To our remonstrances ag-ainst the complicated and 
transcendant injustice of this innovation, the tirMt re- 
ply was that the Orders were reluctantly adopted by 
Great-Britain as a necessary retaliation on Decrees 
of her enemy proclaiming a general blockade of the 
British isles, at a time when the naval force of that 
enemy dared not to issue from his own ports. She was 
reminded, without effect, that her own prior blockade, 
unsupported by an adequate naval force actually ap- 
plied and continued, were a bar to this plea : that ex- 
ecuted Edicts against niHlions of our property could 
Tjot be retaliation on Edicts confessedly impossible 
to be executed : that retaliation, to be just, should 
fall on the party setting the g^uilty exam[»le, not on an 
innocent party, which Mas not even chargeable \> ilh 
an acquiescence in it. 

When deprived of this flimsey veil for a prohibi- 
tion of our trade with her enemy, by the repeal of his 
prohibition of our trade with Great-Britain, her cabi- 
net, mstead of a corresponding repeal or a practical 
discontinuance of its Orders, formally avowed a de- 
termination to persist in them against the United 
States, until tl.e mai ketir of her enemy should be laid 
open to Briti>h products; thus assertmg an ohligation 
on a neutral po\>er to require ore belligerent to en- 
courage, bv its internal reijulations, the trade of 
another be I lifferent ; contradiclmg her oMn practice 
towards all nations in peace as well as in Mar; and 
betraying the insincerity ot those protessions whuh 
inculcated a beliet that, haNing resorted to her Or- 
ders with regret, she was anxious to tind an occa- 
sion for puttntg an end to them. 

Abandoning still more, all respect for the neutral 
rights of the United Slates, and for its own consisten- 
cy, the British government now demands as prc-re- 



HISTORY OF TH£ WAR. ^9 

qoisites to a repeal of its Orders, as thev relate to the 
United States, that a formality should he ob>erv ed id 
the repeal of the French Decrees nowise necesmry 
to their termination, nor exemplified b? Bntish usag^e ; 
and that the French repeal, besides uicluumg that 
portion of the Decrees which operates \%ttbiD a terri- 
torial jurisdiction as well as that which operates on 
the hig^h seas affajust tlie commerce of the United 
States, should not be a single special repeal in rtla- 
tionto the United States, but should be extended to 
whatever neutral nattuns unconnected with ihem may 
be atfected b\ those Decrees. And as an additional 
insult, they are call#d on for a formal disavowal of 
condition and pretensions advanced by the French 
gfovernmeiit, for which the United States are so far 
from having; made themsehes responsible, that, in 
official explanations, which havt been published to 
the world, and in a correspondence, of the American 
minister at London, with the British mmister for 
foreign aflairs, such a responMbility was explicitly 
and emphaticillv disclaimed. 

It has become indeed sufficiently certain that the 
commerce of the United Stales is to be sacnticed, not 
as interferiiiar with the belligerent rights of Great- 
Britain, not as supplving the wants other enemies, 
which she herself supplies, but as interfering with 
the raonoply which she covets for her own commerce 
and navigation. She carries on a war against the 
lawful commerce of a friend, that she may the better 
carry on a commerce with an enemy, a commerce, 
polluted bv tlie forgeries and perjuries which are for 
the most part the only passports by w hich it can suc- 
ceed. 

Anxious to make every experiment short of the 
last resort of injured nations, the United States have 
Withheld from Great-Britain, under successive modi- 
fications, the benetils of a free intercourse with their 
market, the loss of which couid not but outweigh tlie 
profits accruing from her restrictions of our commerce 
with other nations. And to entitle tbe>^ experiment? 
1-? 



90 HISTORY OF Tilt WAR. 

to the more favcMable consideration, lley were so 
framed as to enable her to ]»lare her adversary under 
theexclusi^e operation of them. To these appeals 
her government has been equally inflexible, as it wil- 
ling to make sacrifices of every sort, rather than 
yield to the claims ot justice, or renounce the errors 
of a talse pride. IVay, so tar were the attempts car- 
ried, to overcome the attachment of the British cabi- 
net to its unjust Edicts, that it received every en- 
couragement, within the competency of the Execu- 
tive branch of our government, to exj^ect that a re- 
peal of them v^ouid be followed bv a war between the 
United .States and France, unless the French Edicts 
should also be repealed. Even this communication, 
although sdencing for ever the plea of a disposition 
in the United States to acquiece in those Edicts, ori- 
ginally the sole plea for them, received no attention. 

If no other proof existed of a predetermination of the 
British government against a repeal of its Orders, it 
might be found in the corres|>ondence of the Minis- 
ter Plenipotentiary of the United Stales at London, 
and the British Secretary forForeijiu Aftairsin 1810, 
on the question whether the blockade of May, iJ^^iAi, 
was considered as in force, or as not in force. It had 
been ascertained that the French government, which 
urged this blockade as the ground of its Berlin De- 
cree, was willing, in the event of itsrenioral,lo repeal 
that Decree ; which being followed by alternate re- 
peals of the other oftensive Edicts, might abolish the 
whole system on both sides. This inviting oporluni- 
ty for accomplishing an object so important to the 
United States and professed so oiten to be the desire 
ot both the lielligerents, was made known to the Bri- 
tish gc\ ernment. As that government adunts that an 
actual application of an adequate force is necessary 
to the existence of a legal blockade : and it was no- 
torious, that if such a force had ever been applied, its 
kn:g discontinuance had annulled the blockade in 
question, there could be no sufficient objection on the 
part ot Greal-Britain 'o a fornial revocation of it ; 



HISTORY OF THE WAR, 91 

and no imn^inable objection to a declaralion of the 
f;ict tli.it the block-<ide did not exist. The dtdara- 
tion would hiive been consistent with her avo\\>d 
principles Oi" blockade, nnd would have enabled the 
United States to deraund iVom France the pledcTcd re- 
peal of her Decrees : either with snccess, iu which 
case the wav would have b?e;i opened for a sreneral 
repeal of the bellioerent Edicts: or without success, 
in which case the Cnited States would have been jus- 
titied in turning' their measures exclu>ivelv ni^ainst 
France. The British g^overnment w-mld, Iwwever, 
neither rescind the blockade nor declare its non-exis- 
tence ; nor permit its non-e\i*;tenc3 to be inferred and 
affirmed by the American Pienipotentiary. On tl)e 
contrarv by representing- the blockade to be compre- 
hended in the Orders in Council, the Lnited I^lates 
were compelled so to regard it in their subsequent pro- 
ceed in £fs. 

There was a period when a favorable clian.;e in 
the policv of the British cabinet was ju>tlv considered 
as established. The muiister Pleuipolentiarv of his 
Britannic Majesty here proposed an adjustnient of 
the differences more immedirwtely enJaut^'ering the 
harmony of the two countries. The proposition was 
accepted with a promptitude and cordiality corres- 
ponding with the invariable professions of this jTovcrn- 
ment. A foundation appeared to he Iviid for a sincere 
and lasting reconciliation. — The prospect, however, 
quickly vanished. The whole proce^dina: was disa- 
vowed by the Brilij^h government without anv exphi- 
nation which could at that time repress the beliet", that 
the disavowal proceeded from a spirit of hostdity to ^ 
Uie commercial rights and jMosperitv of the United / 
States. And it has since come into proof, that at the 
very moment when the public minister w;ls holding 
the language of friendship, and inspiring coululencc 
in the smcerity of the negociation with which he was 
charged, a seci*et agent of his government was em- 
ployed in intrigues, having for their object a subver- 
sion of our government, and a dismtiuin rm: i^l of our 
happy Union. 



'<^i mmi&f^ 



Of THE WJft. 



Li ierie w M i ij the Ci W» l wgt of Great-Bnto towaDdf 
iWfFHtcd Staie% oar flteotiaa isaec<«ar9f drnnito 
die m mtut jtn^ remewed br iIk vtv^e^ on one of oar 
I ; a warure wl»di w kaotm to fpare 
9^ QorseXy oaa to W ^MtmcvMlMa hy Ma^ 
tsre« pecmiaHT liirtHrwi^ to lpom> tut. It is diAeoU 
to aeeoMt fiir tlie acttritr an4 cjnilnajt ioag wkicfc 
lore itr «MMet»ebeefl ifc * i^ t^ m ^immu^ wetmt/mf^ 
tkt trihe* Ml conaijBt it< t ' go <i n e w:th Briti4i fndtar% 
90^ mrwMi, witiboot eoDoeelm^ tli« r ho^Utfwiih 
lintffiitenee: a»l witto«t fceonectiatr Hk ^ '' 



eated ex-vrjpt^ of «ndi Miterpt^wtiom t««tto€9re fortt- 
libeilVf ^«rflkier» aa<i a^eate of tfat |,^t in'i — i< iii . 

00^ H ube fOfuctjde of njws aMl vnii^pMlm 
wlHeliJbarebeen aeaped on oar eooatrr ; ao^Meblfie 
<nMi wkkdk 0U um Ktm^Aid f9rt»«aranee ami eooeib- 
atory cf fa ti hare aotbawi aWgto aygtt. Itmflitat 
kaft Ikt^e b'bi^ expedUf4, ihf^. ^m entrj^fit^ned nalioo, 
if le%< orffiedl W OMra VjMi^ati^m*, or ift^^ 
hr du^ntioar oatfae pift of flhe Uiifle48faiie», wodtd 
iisve f/C2^ rs it« tme intend alon« a toflleieat motire 
fOfe«(wetttieyrnste< aad t ln i rtrMM| wi iit t om the lit^ 
iM!a« ; ik^an "^^f^ttd "ptA^cf t wid save ^inorcd 
tint free a«rf ? « !<fq < a tto« of eomm^ee, ra 

ivhidi IW Br>«. ^^n r. i/.«o»i W at alffiani inlemiledf aud 
-vrhtdi fo ti«M3« of war it tlie he<t allerb^oa of it* ca* 
\xm1atA to htnf^U m ^i'^I ^ to o0ier heHft^eroot* ; 
aftd iiy^e <^cpe<:«a]fr tint tK<!; JUkiMa c j A nrn t H wooUl 
SMfty l««r tfv, jMike o^aprer:;9rio<M a^ ^vrreptftioisi ii»- 
fereoonfe wtiSi IvMtfle akauiEelw, l»<(«re perter^ed n % 
cj ow ri of fKeMorv!* wbieli necoManly pvit at haaaud 
tlieflivalaflMeiiiarlE«t ofa i^eatMHi frowio)^ roaa* 
tr«% d»^>o^ t^> mlttiat^ iht mnSnsd atdr?if«Uf^e«of am 
active fjmui^^tet, 

and coflKilisxtaoa Itn^ hsad t>'. -i*-^. tlnni t 

We h t hM otif «#rai>- '<e daiH v .'; - 

tfflM of lawleoy %kife^ t Ihe i^#rat cocn- 

mo hfgHbwaif of oa^.'^r., itm mp*K */ *^ ' 



T CkF TUTE A\A]U ^) 

coaaUnr wlttcb ©wcs them pr.*. •— . AVe KiMUl 
our vessals 6Ki|;hled with the f >oroiir$«»^ uiA 

iadttatiT, or reUirviiug with tiie jHvcixxis v>t" tht~ro, 
wresfteti Iroui their lavilul ^^ > - ^* ^^- ' "".fi&calevl bv 
priae conrts no loni^^tTthc ^ ic Iav». bni 

Ibe inslnimeutii ot" arinlrarv EacU; and th^ir untor- 
tttfiate creus ilwijHrseil nnd lo>t.ortorceilor inre'^i-^ 
id British |K>i-ts iu:o Br.U>h tlects ; whiUt argn- 
■MMls im <iMiplnf f d in support of these a^r^^ssiotts, 
which hare »o fomuiaLon but la a priiK'ipie tH^nalK 
sup|H^rting a clami to iv filiate our txtenud cvmi- 
nieree in all cas<^ lihaksoeMf. 

We bt'lioUl, 111 tone, on the siiW ot" l»rtdl-Bnt '■". ^ 
stale ot" \> w a;;\un?it ihe UuileJ Statt^s, auul o<i ; 
otthe I'uileil 5?tAtei a state ot" peace lowTunJs C»reAl- 
BntAiu. 

WlKtlHT the United States shall continue ^^.^^irr 
untltT these prv^iiTessive usur^visioiK, aiuJ thtse ^ivr.- 
iiiuUtui^ uTonvi-s ; or opjKisiUs; loree to tWce \n tU - 
fiMK\} ot' their natural n^hts shall ov>mmit ajiislcausr 
inia Um hands ot" the Aim i;;ht\ dis,>c\s«r ot 

avodliny all eonucvtions \^u«rh m .^ht etUan^ 

the contests or Tieu^ oi Q\hcr powers, and prt>cr> u. :: 

i lilbllslM , . . ^ . . - . ^.. . 

tion, uhich the coastitutKHi wisely contidi-^ to IV 
lis|fislati>e i\\^ of the ^>vei anient. \i\ 

■Madiiig \\ to . ,ly ilehl^eratKms, I ;m 

ill the assurance that the iK^oisK>n will be Wi>rthy the 
■ . v^lic CoiuiciU ofaxirtuvHis a 
, > V ation. 

ilavuijv i^nsenltxi this view of ih*^ rvlalioiis of tht^ 
U. States with Cm '' V V ^ \ 

tive jirvnvMiii- out o 

conmuuuoationsUist made tot.\Mii;ussoulhesub)iOtol 
our rt»Utioiis \uth K ■ ! }ia>o show; '' 

the ix»vov\UKni ol ; ^ as thev > 

omitDil n^lits of the I" inttHi Stales, her gvveniuKMii 
has rtuthoriMil ilU^^al ,- > - < »,y |js pri\ \ ^ uui 
;>ublicsiii|Vs auvl llul V . .,vs hd\e xc 



94 HISTORY or THE VTAR- , 

tised OB ow resaels aad cilize&s. It u ill hare been 
sees ako, Uut no iodeninity had be^i proritled, or 
s^UiClclorilj pledged, for the extens' iations 

ijiWHiilTril under the violeat and retro > orders 

of Ak French goTemmeat acraiost the propertv ot oar 
^rtip**g»« seized withiii the jansdictioo of Praoce. I 
dhriaia it tkis time frooi recoanneiiding' io the consid- 
eration of Congress dt^nitire measares with respect 
to tkd ■alion, itt the expeciaiion. thai the result of uo- 
cloatd dtfica»aons between our 3Iioi!^ter Pjenif>otea- 
tizrj at Pans and theFreoch goverameot will ^peed- 
iIt enable Coogre&s to decide, with greater advan- 
tage, on die. coiB'Be doe to the rights the interests, 
aad the booor of oar coontrv. 

JAMES MADISON. 
"Washlngtox, Jane Isl, l5l2. 



rni or THE CoiL ox FoRtiGX Relations. 



Tke eomauUet on Forti^A Relaliom* io mJkom tan re- 

Jered tkt Menage of the Preiident of tke Lmied 

ataUs rftheUt ofJu»e^ lSi-2. 
REPORT— 

That aiier the experience wbidi the United SiaieK 
fane bad of the greart nQnrfice of the BntiUi govem- 
seal toradt tbea^ exesplified \yy to man j acts of 

Ti nlrfniad np| i rr iiiiin , rt~ 11 ^" tt ^-^^i* *^j»- 

tify to tke ia^iartnl worid thfcir poftieat forbearance, 
ikaa Ike ■teasuret to which it baak.beoome riec4bs«arv 
to resort, to avenge the wrongs, and vmdicaie the 
figbU and honor of tbe nation. Yoor committee are 
bappv^ to ofaMTie oo a dtvpsMUooate review of the con- 
duct of tbe Cuit/ed Siate% tbattbej see m it no caose 
Wcewsare. 

If a long fort^a.rance under injoriet ought erer to 
be eoesadered a virtae in any nation, it i» one «h;< h 
pccidiari; becomes tisie United f^tate». No people 
«v«r bad stroi^er motives to rbcTMh peace — none 
bave erer cberif^-cd it with greaier sincerity and 7^i3. 




9i li» l«§t «:sr Icdl 



^ lite w«r. «Mi ta n a ynin. t» k an 








-nji^i^»a^ IT 



98 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

might give the most deadly wound to our inlerests. 
A trade just in itself, which was secured by so many 
strong and sacred pledges, was considered safe. — 
Our citizens with their usual industry and enterprise 
had embarked in it a vast proportion of their ship- 
ping, and of their capital, which were at sea, under 
110 other protection than the law of nations, and the 
confidetice which they reposed in the justice and 
friendship of the British nation. At this period the 
miexpected blow was given. Many of our vessels 
were seized, carried into port and condemned by a 
tribunal, which, while it professes to respect the law of 
nations, obeys the mandates of its own government. 
Hundreds of other vessels were driven from the 
ocean, and trade itself in a great measure suppressed. 
The effect produced by this attack on the lawful com- 
merce of the United States was such as might have 
been expected from a virtuous, independent, and 
highly injured people. But one sentiment pervaded 
the whole American nation. No local interests were 
regarded — no sordid motives felt. Without looking 
to the parts which suffered most, the invasion of our 
rights was considered a common cause, and from 
one extremity of our Union to the other, was heard, 
the voice of an united people, calling on their gov- 
ernment to avenge their wrongs and vindicate the 
rights and honor of the country. 

From this period the British government has gone 
on in a continued encroachment on the rights and in- 
terest of the United States, disregarding in its course, 
in many instances, obligations which have heretofore 
been held sacred by civilized nations. 

In May, 1806, the whole coast of the continent, 
from the Elbe to Brest inclusive, was declared to be 
in a slate of blockade. By this act, the well estab- 
lished principles of the law of nations, principles 
which have served for ages as guides, and lixed the 
boundary between the rights of belligerents and neu- 
trals, were violated ; by the law ol nations, as re- 
CQguized by Great-Britain herself, no blockade is 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 99 

lawful, unless it be sustained by the application of an 
adequate force, and that an adequate force was ap- 
phed to this blockade, in its full extent, ought not 
to be pretended. Whether Great-Britain was able to 
maintain, leg-ally, so extensive a blockade, consider^ 
ing the war in which she is engaged, requiring such 
extensive naval operations, is a question which is no! 
necessary at this time to exanune. It is sufficient to 
be known, that such force was not applied, and this is 
evident from the terms of the blockade itself, bv 
which, comparatively, an inconsiderable portion of 
the coast only was declared to be in a state of strict 
and rigorous blockade. Tiie objection to the meas- 
ure is not diminished by that circumstance. If Ihe 
force was not applied, the blockade was unlawful, 
from whatever cause the failure might proceed. The 
belligerent who institutes the blockade cannot absolve 
itself from the obligation to apply the force under 
any pretext whatever. For a belligerent to relax a 
blockade, which it could not maintain, it would be a 
refinement in injustice not less insulting to the under- 
standing than repugnant to the law of nations. To 
claim merit for the mitigation of an evil, which the 
party either had not the power or found it inconveni- 
ent to inflict, would be a new mode of encroachino- 
on neutral rights. Your committee think it just to 
remark, that this act of the British government does 
not appear to have been adopted in the sense in which 
it has been since construed. On consideration of all 
the circumstances attending the measure, and parti- 
cularly the character of the distinguished statesman 
who announced it, we are persuaded that it was con- 
ceived in a spirit of conciliation, and intended to lead 
to an accommodation of all differences between the 
United States and Great-Britain. His death disap- 
pointed that hope, and the act has since become sub- 
servient to other purposes. It has been made by his 
successors a pretext for that vast system of usurpa- 
tion, which has so long oppressed and harrassed our 
commerce. 



100 HtSTORY or THE WAR. 

The next act of the British government which 
claims onr attention is the Orders in Council of Jan. 
7, 1807, by which neutral powers are prohibited tra- 
ding from one port to another of France or her alHes, 
or any other country with which Great-Britain might 
not freely trade. By this order the pretension of 
England, heretofore claimed by every other power, to 
prohibit neutrals disposing of parts of their cargoes 
at different ports of the same enemy, is revived and 
With vast accumulation of injury. Every enemy, howe- 
great the number or distance from each other, is con- 
sideied one, and the like trade even with powers at 
peace with England, who from motives of policy had 
excluded or restrained her commerce, was also pro- 
hibited. In this act the British government evident- 
ly disclaimed all regard for neutral rights. Aware 
that the measures authorised by it could find no pre- 
text in any belligerent right, none was urged. To 
prohibit the sale of our produce, consisting of innocent 
articles at any port of a belligerent, not blockaded, to 
consider every belligerent as one, and subject neu- 
trals to the same restraint with all, as if there was 
but one, were held encroachments. But to restrain 
or in any manner interfere with our commerce with 
neutral nations with whom Great-Britain was at peace, 
and against whom she had no justifiable cause of war, 
for the sole reason, that they restrained or excluded 
from their ports her commerce, was utterly incompat- 
ible with the pacific relictions subsisting between the 
two countries. 

We proceed to bring into view the British Order 
in Council of November lllh, 1807, which superced- 
ed every other order, and consummated that system 
of hostility on the commerce of the United Stales 
which has been since so steadily pursued. By this 
Order all France and her allies and every other coun- 
try at war with Great-Britain, or with which she 
was not at war, from which the British fiag was ex- 
cluded, and all the colonies of her enemies were sub- 
jected to the same restrictions as if they were actuali- 



HISTORY OF THE AVAR. 101 

)y blockaded in the most strict and rigorous manner, 
and all trade in articles the produce and manufacture 
of the said countries and colonies and the vessels en- 
gaged in it were subjected to capture and condemna- 
tion as lawful prize. To this order certain exceptions 
were made which we forbear to notice becaue they 
were not adopted from a regard to neutral rights, but 
were dictated by policy to promote the commerce of 
England, and so far as they related to neutral powers, 
were said to emanate from the clemency of the British 
government. 

It would be superfluous in your committee to state, 
that by this order the British government declared 
direct and positive war against the United States. 
The dominon of the ocean was completely usurped 
by it, all commerce forbidden, and every flag driven 
from it, or subjected to capture and condemnation, 
whichdidnotsubservethepolicy of the British govern- 
ment by paying it a tribute and saihng under its sanc- 
tion. From this period the United States having in- 
curred the heaviest losses and most mortifying humilia- 
itons. They have borne the calamities of war with- 
out retorting them on its authors. 

So far your committee has presented to the view 
of the House the aggressions which have been commit- 
ted under the authority of the British government on 
the commerce of the United States. We will now 
proceed to other wrongs which have been still mote 
severely felt. Among these is the impressment of 
our seamen, a practice which has beew unceasingly 
maintained by Great-Britain in the wars to which she 
has been a party since our revolution. Your com- 
mittee cannot convey in adequate terms the deep sense 
which they entertain of the injustice and oppression 
of this proceeding. Under the pretext of impressing 
British seamen, our fellow citizens are seized in British 
ports, on the high seas, and in every other quarter to 
which the British power extends, are taken on board 
British men of war, and compelled to serve there as 
British subjects. In this mode our citizens are wan- 



102 HISTOBY or THE WAR. 

tonly snatched from their country and their families, 
deprived of their hberty, and doomed to an ignomin- 
ious and slavish bondage, compelled to tight the bat- 
tles of a foreign country, and often to perish in them. 
Our flag has given them no protection ; it has been 
unceasingly violated, and our vessels exposed to dan- 
ger by the loss of the men taken from them. Your 
committee need not remark that whde the practice is 
continued, it is impossible for the United States to 
consider themselves an independent nation. Every 
new case is a new proof of their degradation. Its 
continuance is the more unjustifiable, because the 
United States have repeatedly proposed to the British 
government an arrangement which would secure to 
it the control of its own people. An exemption of 
the citizens of the United States from this degrading 
oppression, and their flag from violation, is all that 
they have sought. 

This lawless waste of our trade, and equally unlaw- 
ful impressment of our seamen, have been much ag- 
gravated by the insults and indignities attending them. 
Under the pretext of blockading the harbors of France 
and her allies, British squadrons have been stationed on 
our own coast, to watch and annoy our own trade. 
To give effect to the blockade of European ports, 
the ports and harbors of the United States have been 
blockaded. In executing these orders of the British 
government, or in obeying the spirit which was 
known to animate it, the commanders of these squad- 
rons have encroached on our jurisdiction, seized our 
vessels, and curried into effect impressments within 
our limits, and done other acts of great injustice, vio- 
lence, and oppression. The United States have seen, 
with mingled indignation and surprise, that these 
acts, instead of procuring to the perpetrators the pun- 
ishment due to unauthorised crimes, have not failed 
to recommend them to the favor of their govern- 
ment. 

Whether the British government has contributed 
by active measures to excite against us the hostility 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 108 

of the savage tribes on our frontiers, your committee 
are not disposed to occupy much time in investigat- 
ing. Certain indications of general notoriety may 
supply the place of authentic documents ; though 
these have not been wanting to establish the fact in 
some instances. It is known that symptoms of Bri- 
tish hostility towards the United States, have never 
failed to produce corresponding symptoms among 
those tribes. It is also well known, that on all such 
occasions, abundant supplies of the ordinary muni- 
tions of war have been afforded by the agents of Bri- 
tish commercial companies, and even from British 
garrisons, wherewith they were enabled to commence 
that system of savage warfare on our frontiers, which 
has been at all times indiscriminate in its effect, on all 
ages, sexes and conditions, and so revolting to hu- 
manity. 

Your committee would be much gratified if they 
could close here the detail ot" British wrongs — but it 
is their duty to lecite another act of still greater ma- 
lignity, than any of those which have been already 
brouglit to your view. The attempt to dismember 
our Union, and overthrow our excellent constitu- 
tion, by a secret mission, the object of which was to 
foment discontent and excite insurrection against the 
constituted authorities and laws of the nation, as lately 
disclosed by the agent employed in it, affords full 
proof that there is no bound to the hostility of the 
British government towards the United Slates — no 
act, however unjustifiable, which it would not com- 
mit to accomplish their ruin. This attempt excites 
the greater horror from the consideration that it was 
made while the United Stales and Great-Britain were 
at peace, and an amicable negociation was depending 
between them for the accommodation of their differ- 
ences, through public ministers, regularly authorised 
for the purpose. 
The United States have beheld, with unexampled for- 
bearance, this continued series of hostile encroachment*; 
on tlieir rights and interests, in the hope, that, yield- 



104 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

ing- to the force of friendly remonstrances, often 
repeated, the British government might adopt a more 
just pohcy towards them ; but that hope no longer 
exists. They have also weighed impartially the reai- 
sons which have been urged by the British govern- 
ment m vindication of these encroachments, and found 
in them neither justification or apology. 

The British government has alleged in vindication 
of the Orders in Council that they were resorted to as 
a retaliation on France, for similar aggressions com- 
mitted by her on our neutral trade with the British 
dominions. But how has this plea been supported ? 
The dates of British and French aggressions are 
well known to the world. Their origin and progress 
have been marked with too wide and destructive a 
waste of the property of our fellow-citizens to have 
been forgotten. The Decree of Berlin of November 
21st. 1806, was the first aggression of France in the 
present war. Eighteen months had then elapsed, af- 
ter the attack made by Great-Britain on our neutral 
trade, with the colonies of France and her allies, and 
six months from the date of the proclamation of May, 
1800. Even on the 7th Jan. 1807, the date of the 
first British Order in Council, so short a term had 
elapsed, after the Belin Decree, that it was hardly 
posible that the intelligence of it should have reached 
the United Slates. A retaliation which is to pro- 
duce its etiect, by operating on a neutral power ought 
not to be resorted to, till the neutral had justified it by 
a culpable acquiescence in the unlawful act of the 
other belligerent. It ought to be delayed until after 
sufhcient time had been allowed to the neutral tore- 
nionstrate against the measure complained of, to re- 
ceive an answer, and to act on it, winch had not been 
done in the present instance ; and when the Order of 
November lUh was issued, it is well known that a 
minister of France had declared to the minister plen~ 
ipoleiitiary of the United, States at Pans, that it was 
not intended that the Decree of Berlin should apply 
to the United Stales, it is equally well known that 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 105 

BO American vessel had then been condemned under 
it, or seizure been made, with which the British gov- 
ernment was acquainted. The facts prove incontesti- 
bly, thatthe measures of France, however unjustifiable 
in themselves, were nothino^ more than a pretext for 
tliose of England. And of the insufficiency of that pre- 
text, ample proof has already been afforded by the 
British g^overnment itself, and in the most impressive 
form. Although it was declared that the Orders in 
Council were retaliatory on France for her Decrees, it 
was also declared, and in the Orders themselves, that 
owing to the superiority of the British navy, by which 
the fleets of France and her allies were confined with- 
in their own ports, the French Decrees were consider- 
ed only as empty threats. 

It is no justification of the wrongs of one power, 
that the like were committed by another ; nor ought 
the fact, if true, to have been urged by either, as it 
could afford no proof of its love of justice, of its 
magnanimity, or even of its courage. It is more 
worthy the government of a great nation, to relieve 
than to assail the injured. Nor can a repetition of the 
wrongs by another power, repair the violated rights, 
or wounded honor, of the injured party. An utter 
inability alone to resist, would justify a quiet surren- 
der of our rights, and degrading submission to the 
will of others. To that condition the United States 
are not reduced, nor do they fear it. That they ever 
consented to discuss with either the misconduct of the 
other, is a proof of their love of peace, of their 
moderation, and of the hope which they still indulg- 
ed, that friendly appeals to just and generous senti- 
ments would not be made to them in vain. But the 
motive was mistaken, if their forbearance was im- 
puted, either to the want of a just sensibility to their 
wrongs, or of a determination, if suitable redress was 
not obtained, to resent them. The time has now ar- 
rived when this system of reasoning must cease. It 
would be insulting to repeat it. It would be degrad- 
ing to hear it. The United States must act as an in- 

14 




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i?fr.JrrE 




Umbo* jjtwmi 






ttST ^^IHO-^sTT 


Jt SNir Tm>c»- 


"r-»a*^ii Bsr ««ui 




,-, 










'-^'X ^ 'civ 



108 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

their oppressors to deliver them up, are encroach- 
uients of that high and dangerous tendency which 
could not fail to produce that pernicious etlect, nor 
would those be the only consequences that would re- 
sult from it. The British government might for a 
while, be satisfied with the ascendency thus gained 
over us, but its pretensions would soon increase. 
The proof which so complete and disgraceful a sub- 
mission to its authority, would afford of our degene- 
racy, could not fail to inspire contidence that there 
was no limit to which its usurpations, and our degra- 
dation might not be carried. 

Your committee, believing that the freeborn sons 
of America are worthy to enjoy the liberty which 
their fathers purchased at the price of so much blood 
and treasure, and seeing, in the measures adopted by 
Great-Britain, a course commenced and persisted in, 
which might lead to a loss of national character and 
independence, feel no hesitation in advising resistance 
by force, in which the Americans of the present 
day will prove to the enemy and the world, that we 
have not only inherited that liberty which our fathers 
gave us, but also the will and power to maintani it. 
Helying on the patriotism of the nation, and confi- 
dently trusting that the Lord of Hosts will go with 
us to battle in a righteous cause, and crown our ef- 
forts with success — your committee recommend an 
appeal to arms. 

Soon after the above Report was read, Mr. Cal- 
houn, from the committee of foreign relations, on 
leave being given, presented a bill, declaring war be- 
tween Gi"€at- Britain, and her dependencies, and the 
United States, and their territories; which, after seve- 
ral day's debate, passed the House of Representatives 
in the following manner ; and was approved by the 
President, on the 18th day of June. 



HISTORY OF THE WAK. 109 

DECLARATION OF WAR. 
AN ACT, 
Declaring War hetrveen the United Kingdoms of Great- 
Britain and Irelandy and the dependencies thereof 
and the United States of America , and their Terri- 
tories. 

BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States ot" America in Con" 
g-ress assembled, That WAR be and the same is 
hereby declarad to exist between the United King- 
doms of Great-Britain and Ireland and the dependen- 
cies thereof, and the United States of America and 
their territories : and that the President of the United 
States be and he is hereby authorised to use the w hole 
land and naval force of the United States to carry 
the same into effect and to issue to private armed 
vessels of the United States commissions, or letters of 
marque and general reprisal, in such form as he shall 
fliink proper, and under the seal of the United States, 
against the vessels, goods and effects of the govern- 
ment of the same United Kingdoms of Great-Britain 
and Ireland, and of the subjects thereof. 
June 16, 1812. 
Approved, JAMES MADISON. 



YEAS. 

Nerv- Hampshire. Dinsmoor, Hall, and Harper — 3. 

Massachusetts. Seaver, Carr, Green, Richardson, 
Turner, and Widgery — t). 

Hhode-hland. ^in\e. 

Vermont. Fisk, Shaw, and Strong — 3. 

Connecticut. None. 

NeW'York. Pond, Avery, and Sage — 3. 

Nerv-Jersey. Condit, and Morgan — 2. 

Pennsylvania. Seybert, Anderson, Brown, Ro- 
berts, Findley, Smilie, Lyle, Whitehill, Bard, Da-i* 
vis, Lefevre, Hyneman, Piper, Lacock, Crawford, 
and Smith — 16. 

Delarvare. None. 

Maryland. Kent, Little, M'Kim, Ringgold, 
Brown, and Archer — 6; 



no HISTORY OP THE WAR; 

Virginia. Nelson, Gholson, Goodwyn, Newton, 
Taliaferro, Dawson, Bassett, Smith, Hawes, Roane, 
M'Kov, Pleasants, Clopton, and Burwell — 14. 

iSorth-Carolina. Alston, BlackleJ^e, Macon, 
King, Cochran, and Pickens — 6. 

South-Carolina. Williams, Cheves, Lowndes, 
Butler, Calhoun, Earle, Winn, and Moore — 8. 

Georgia. Troup, Bibb, and Hall — 3. 

Kentucky. Johnson, Desha, New, M'Kee, and 
Ormsby — 5. 

Tennessee. Rhea, Grundy, and Sevier — 3. 

Ohio. Morrow — 1. 

NAYS. 

New- Hampshire. Bartlett, and Sullivan — 2. 

Massachusetts. Q,uincy, Reed, Taggart, Ely, 
Brigham, White, Tallman, andWheaton — 8. 

llhode- Island. Potter, and Jackson — 2. 

Vermont. Chittenden — 1. 

Connecticut. Sturges, Davenport, Mosely, Cham- 
pion, Tallmadge, Pitkin, and Law — 7. 

ISeK- York, Bleecker, Eraott, Cooke, Fitch, Gold, 
Saramoiis, Stow, Tracy, Van Cortlandt, Mitchill, 
and Metcalf— 11. 

JSew-Jcrsey. Boyd, Hufty, Maxwell, and NeW- 
bold— 4. 

Pennsylvania. Milnor, and Rodman — 2. 

Delaware. Ridgely — 1. 

Maryland. Key, Goldsborough, and Stuart — 3. 

Virginia. Randolph, Lewis, Baker, Brecken- 
ridge, and Wilson — 5. 

JSorth-taroliua. Pearson, M'Bryde, and Stan- 
ford — 3. 

S(mth- Carolina. None. 

Georgia. None. 



Kentucky. None. 




Tennessee. None. 




Ohio. None. 




Yeas, 


79 


Nays, 


49 



Majority for War, 30 



Tow >» 

^5^% xi — ^Tiui- yi: 



>^l!*Jt- 




mt^ -It 



ryTTED ^ATT^ OF AMEUCJU 



^Bv «t'l^ Bi i uiiu i i MMBiAw link "VTjc ^ajsC^ ^%«;t«< 

«mI lis ApuiAimki ^•^•^' -ir" tix.x} ^le Cadkitf :^itic«» 

agiiiAirVrfiiif y^ r^?v^ - 

H infteixllkaKi^ : A^ 



113 BUSTOBY OF THJE l^AS. 

Is TcnxMOXT u uLREOF I Lire kAmiao 
iei m^ haad, aitd c&used tLe seal of die 
United States to be amxed to these pre«- 

aeoftSk. 

rSEAL 

LfOSK al tfae Citj of Wasfaiit^toD, tbe nine- 
tecatli <laj of Jme ooe tiKtosaiMi ei^bt ban- 
drul aod t«elTe,aiMl of tbe IndepeDdeDC^ 
or tbe UD:ted Statet the tb:rt'«-»ixtb. 
(Sgaed) 

JA31E5 MADISON. 

(S^Kd) JA3IE5 MONROE 

Secretary of Stat* . 



OIAPTER IV- 

TKE FIR.-TPRIrfONER, 

Wai iuikea ia 'S<irifj\k^ Yir^tulz^ — A gendemza;, 
b« Iht^ Bdone «f H lUummm^ am%ed m thai place 
aboai the fini of Jor^e, and |Nii up at the British 
Cwnriu The cit zee* flaipeclnl bim to be aBnti«h 
•ftccr, avid accordi*^ kefA as «fe nf«on hin. On 
the: ffccv^f^ of the Decbntm o/ IVar, Wilkinaon, 
a* the BiajlUMi. waft ahovllo depart, wacMentonake 
rHrat tJsMi^ the hade sirtet, wbtcsb 
iipMi the CMUiira ta the whari, nijere the b^at 
l»r, vheai he <f*a»|^ «• btard, darted hslo the cabHi, 
awl » a feirM»fj»di «a« ander way. It was kBOWTi 
that a BttB <«f fi^ar wai^ Uo^ehug on t^Je coaO, acad 
hi» 'mkTi4km «a» to eoaanvucafte the decbratiwi nf 
mar t* her. Baativ fincMB the naty jard and lort Nei- 
ffWy were iaanM^fcately dw pa tcW d^ vhicb Mwy e edrd 
IB tnlrwMg Wrfhiataa. He proved to >je a capiahi m 



IRE FIMST PBIZIL 




MlD^IDEyr^ ME5SAGI1 

r# rif SnMiftr «W Hmur ^" fftfj illiim •# Ai 

JAMEf MADISOX. 

It ktti W«K «AS>MMhr satistocftan I* via. W m4 Wi 

tiww tti» tm^ c i—»npf I bef^«itoW 

>«r, tinAiM«er««itovto*toftWis mdBMn^ toi 

ktun vWAi ImmI uto'iiiia wiHiMi* «H««r ^ %^ 

et«r lie raftdiy villi | 4i <u ig t to bMr tostwwMti to tWl 

toWbmjf to y\>«L by «M «ili» iM«« e^^er InJ ^ kwMr 
to «LncttM» m ih yv>a «rv ^iMertKwi 4a4f fublic 

Bl*. SKV t i l il<l >gtl TMI ltor» IIK4 WiickwMpA «4 
«Uf tMtoM «K|^lM«ftMS villi M* 1 Mfc<JN> I ♦■HWM 

»o( tM)t?>el, ipaMiMadbrhF »» 1 Imi^jvsI x UtoiwiMCiUiini 
t*«iK toaMik» ti^ tke guMtoA «^N«tMW^ lk«i 

I Im4 • rwU to ..... trwM \>mi « wnltoii rt|kK to 
tb««« ; atM «r|itW I r c « w>U?tv> i tiMrt twv ^' ^v ton** 

1^ 



'114 HISTORY OF THE >VAR. 

er notes M'ere slill unanswered, the one written three 
•months ago, containing among' other important top- 
icks a particular question which I was expressly in- 
structed to put to you, as to whether you could point 
to an} public act, on the part of the French govern- 
ment, by which they had really revoked their Decrees, 
and the other furnishing strong evidence of the con- 
tinued existence of those very Decrees ; also, when 
I perceived that my note, communicating the duke of 
Bassano's report, which you knew was to be sent to 
you on the 1st inst. was not waited for, but that a mes- 
sage was transmitted by the Executive to Congress, 
which it seems contained a reference to an insulated 
passage in the despatch on which my note was found- 
ed, that if taken unconnected with what preceeded or 
followed, it might be liable to misconstruction, I could 
not avoid apprehending that no means of further ex- 
planation might be left open to me. 

I beg you to be assured sir, that if I was embarras- 
sed by your demands of an explanation as to what 
appeared to you to be a difference between lord Cas- 
tlereagh's despatch, communicated to you, and my 
note, it arose from the novelty of the demand, that 
seemed to involve an informality of proceeding, in 
which I could not feel myselfjustitied in acquiescing. 
Had you, in making a reply to my communication, 
asked me how far a repeal of the French Decrees 
was demanded by my government and as to whether 
a special repeal, as far as respected America, would 
be sufficient I should have had no hesitation in giv- 
ing you every satisfaction. 

Your note of the 6th instant has, by shewing that 
the door was not absolutely shut to a coiUinuance of 
our discussion, relieved me from further difficulty on 
this point. 

I have no hesitation, sir, in saying that Great-Bri- 
tain, as the case has hitherto stood, never did^ nor 
never could engage, without the grossest injustice to 
herself and her allies, as well as to other neutral na- 
tioub, to repeal her orders as affecting America alone, 



HISTORY OP TTtE WAR. 115 

leaving' them in force ao^ainst oilier stales, npon con- 
dition that France would except, singly and special- 
ly, America from the operation of her Decrees. You 
will recollect, sir, that the Orders in Council are meas- 
ures of defence, directed against the system contained 
in those Decrees ; that it is a war of trade which is car- 
ried on by France ; that what you call the municipal 
reg-ulations of France, have never been called munici-. 
pal by France herself, but aie her main engines in that 
novel and monstrous system. It cannot, then, be 
expected that Great-Britani should renounce h<T ef- 
forts to throw back upon France the evils vvith which, 
she menaces Great-Britain, merely because France 
mig'ht seek to alleviate her own situation by waving 
the exercise of that part of her system which she 
cannot enforce. 

But, sir, to what purpose argue upon a supposed 
case ; upon a state of thing's not likely to occur, since 
the late report and senatus consultum which have 
been published to the world, as it were, insultingly in 
the face of those who would contend that any repeal 
whatever had taken place, of the Decrees in question. 

You draw a comparison between the mode m which 
this instrument has appeared, and that which you call 
the high evidence of the repeal as stated in Mr. Cham- 
pagny's note : and it would almost seem as if you 
considered the latter as the most authentic of the two ; 
but, sir, you cannot seriously contend that the duke 
of Bassano'g report, with the senatus consultum ac- 
companying it, published in the official pa])er at Pa- 
ris, is not a very different instrument from the above 
letter, oti'ering a mere provisional repeal of the De- 
crees, upon conditions utterly inadmissible : condi- 
tions too, which really formed of themselves a ques- 
tion of paramount importance. 

The condition then demanded, and which was 
brought forward so unexpectedly, was a repeal of the 
blockade of May, 1806, which Mr. Pinkney, in the 
letter you have referred me to, declared to have been 
irequired by America as indispensaiile in the view of 



116 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

her acts of intercourse and non-intercourse, as well 
as a rental of other blockades of a similar character, 
which were maintained by Great-Britain, to be found- 
ed on strict maritime rights. 

The conditions now annexed to the French de- 
mand ai»e much more extensive, and as I have shewn, 
includes a surrender of many other of the most estab- 
lished principles of the public law of nations. 

I cannot, I confess, see upon what ground yon con- 
tend that the report ot the duke of Bassano, affords no 
proof against any partail repeal of the French De- 
crees. The principles advanced in that report are 
general ; there is no exception made m favor of 
America, and in the correspondence of Mr. Barlow, 
as officially published, he seems to allow that he had 
no explanation respecting it. How can it, therefore, 
be considered in any other light than as a repubiica- 
tion of the Decrees themselves ? which, as it were to 
take away all ground for any doubt, expressly ad- 
vances a doctrine that can only be put in practice on 
the high seas, namely, * that free ships shall make 
free goods,' since the application of such a principle 
to vessels in port is absolutely rejected under his con- 
tinental system. 

It is, indeed, impossible to see how, under such 
circumstances, America can call upon Great-Britain 
to revoke her Orders in Council. It is impossible 
that she can revoke them at this moment, in common 
justice to herself and to her allies; but, sir, while un- 
der the necessity of continuing them, she will be 
ready to manage their exercise, so as to alleviate as 
much as possible, the pressure upon America ; and 
it would give me great pleasure to confer with yon, 
at any time, upon the most advisable manner of pro 
ducing that effect. I have the honor, &c. 
(Signed) AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER, 

To ihehon. James Monroet 5cc, 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 117 

Mr. Monroe to Mr. Foster. 
Department of State, June 13, 1812. 
SIR, 

1 am not aware that any letter of yours, on any 
subject, on which the final decision of tins govern- 
ment ha<l not been communicated to you, has bcu 
suffered to remaui without a prompt and written an- 
swer ; and even in the cases thus supposed to have 
been setllcd, which you ihouoht proper to ixivive, al- 
tlioug^h no favorable cha'^ge had taken place in the 
policy or measures of your government, I have never 
failed to explain to you informally, in early inter- 
views, the !-easons which made it imperiously the du- 
ty of the United States to continue to afford, to their 
rijrhts and interests, all the protection in their power. 
The acknowledgment of this on >our part, was due 
to the frankness of the communications which have 
passed between us on the highly important subjects 
on which we have treated, and I am happy to find 
by your letter of the 10th inst. that in relying on it, I 
have not been disuppomted. 

The impropriety of the demand made by your gov- 
ernment of a copy of the instrument of instructions 
given by the French government to its cruizers, after 
the repeal ofthe Berlin and IMdan Decrees, was 
sufficiently shown in Mr. Pinkney's letter to the IMar- 
quis of VVellesley of the 10th of December, 1810, 
and in my letters to you of the 23d July, 181 1, and 
14th January last. It was for this reason that I thought 
it more suitable to refer you to those letters, for the 
answer to thatdemiuid, than to repeat it in a formal 
comuuinicalion. 

It excites, however, no small surprise, that you 
should continue to demand a copy of that instrument, 
oi any new proof of the repeal of the French De- 
crees, at the very lime that you declare that the proof 
which you demand, in the extent to which we have a 
right to claim the repeal, would not, if afl'orded, ob- 
tain a corresponding repeal of the Orders in Council. 
Thi"* demand is the more extraordm.^.ryi when it i« 




atjs^ 










BU^i: 






rrf-W Ci u. 



w«cTi '-ai m- 




M, fl ti 




<V20 MlS^TOK¥ OF THE WAKi, 

ampled assumption of authonl^ by France, in coun- 
tries not under French juri^tliction, and expressly in- 
vaded for the purpose, of preveniing- their trade with 
England, on principles directly applicable to, if they 
could be enforced as^ainst America. 

I beg you to recollect, sir, that if no revocation had 
been made of the Orders in Council, upon any repeal 
of the French Decrees, as hitherto shown by America 
to have taken place, it has not been the fault of his 
Majesty's e^overnment. It was France, and after- 
wards America, that connected the question relative 
to the right of blockadevvith that arising out of the 
Orders in Council. You well know that if these two 
questions had not been united together, the Orders in 
Council would have been, in 1810, revoked. How 
could it be expected that Great-Britain, in common 
justice to other- neutral nations, to her allies, and to her- 
self, should not contend for a full and absolute repeal 
of the French Decrees, or should engage to make 
any particular concession in favor of America, when 
she saw that America would not renounce her d e- 
.mandfor a surrender with the Orders in Council of 
some of our most important maritime rights. 

Even to this day, sir, you have not explicitly stated 
in any of the letters to which you refer me, that the 
American government would expressly renounce 
asking for arevocationof the blockade of May 1806, 
and the other blockade alluded to in Mr. Pinkney's 
letter ; much less have I been able to obtain from you 
any disclaimer of the rights asserted by France to 
impose upon the world the new maritime code pro- 
mulgated by France in the late republication of her 
Decrees, although I liave, by order of my govern- 
ment, expressly stated their expectation of such dis- 
claimer, and repeatedly called for an explanation on 
this point. 

I will now say that I feel entirely authorised to 
assure you that if you can, at any time, produce a full 
and unconditional repeal of the French Decrees, as 
you have a right to demand it in your character of a 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 121 

neutral nation, and that it be disengaged from any 
connection with the question concerning our maritime 
rights, we shall be ready to meet you with a revoca- 
tion of the Orders in Council. Previous to your pro- 
ducing such an instrument, which I am sorry to see 
you regard as unnecessary, you cannot expect of \Ui to 
give up our Orders in Council. 

In reference to the concluding paragraph of youv 
letter in answer to that in mine of the 10th insl. I will 
only say, that I am extremely sorry to find you think 
it imposible to devise or conceive any arrangement 
consistent with the honor, rights, and interests, ofth6 
United States, whi(h might tend to alleviate the pres- 
sure of the Orders in Council on the commerce of 
America. It would have given me great satisfaction 
if we could have fallen upon some agreement that 
might have had such effect. My goverimient, while 
under the imperious necessity of resisting France with 
her own weapons, most earnestly desires that the in- 
terest of America may suffer as little as possible from 
the incidental effect of the conflict. They are aware 
that their retaliatory measures have forced the ruler of 
France to yield in some degree from his hostile De- 
crees, and whether it were more advisable to push 
those measures rigorously on until they complete the 
breaking of it up altogether (the main object of our 
jetaliatory system) or to take advantage of the par- 
tial and progressive retractions of it, produced by the 
necessities of the enemy, hr^ been a question with 
his Majesty's government. It is one on which they 
would have been most desirous to consult the interest 
of America. Under existing circumstances, how- 
ever, and from our late communications, I have not 
felt encouraged to make you any written proposal 
arising out of this state of things; I shall, therefore, 
merely again express to you, that as the object of 
Great-Britain has been throughout to endeavor, while 
forced, in behalf of her most important rights and in- 
terest to retaliate upon the French Decrees, to com- 
bine that retaliation with the sreatesi possible degree 
16 



122 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

of attention to the interest of America, it would give 
his Majesty's governmeut the most sincere satisfaction 
if some arrangement could be found which would have 
so desirable an etlbct. I have, &c. 

(Signed) AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER. 

7'o the hon, James Monroe, Sec. 



PKESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 

To the Senate and House of lieprenentatives of the 

United iStates. 
1 communicate to Congress copies of a letter to the 
Secretary of state, from the charge d'affairs of the 
United States at London, and of a note to him from 
tjie British Secretary for foreign affairs. 

JAMES MADISON. 
June 22, 1812. 



Mr. Russell to the Secretary/ of State. 

London, May 2, 1812. 

SIR — After closing the duplicate of my letter to 
you of the 26th ult. 1 discovered the copy of the note 
of lordCastlereaghto meofthe 21st ult. had been left 
out by mistake. I take the liberty of now handing 
it to you. 1 am, &c. 

JONATHAN RUSSELL. 

To the hon. James Monroe, 6s"c. 

[Enclosed in the above.] 

The undersigned, his Majesty's principal Secretary 
of state for foreign affaii:^, is commanded by liis Rov- 
al Highness, the Prince Regent, to transmit to ;\jr. 
Russell, charge d'affairs of the government of the 
United States of America, the enclosed copy of a 
declaration accompanying an Order in Council which 
has been this day passed by his Royal Highness, the 
Prince Regent in Council. 

The undersigned is commanded by the Prince Re- 
gent to request that ]\Ir. Russell, in making this 
communication to his government, will represent this 
measure as conceived in the true spirit of conciliation, 
and with a due regard, on the part of his RoyaJ 



HISTORY OF THE V. All. \^6 

Highness, to the honor and interest of the Uiutecl 
States; and the undersiotied ventures to express his 
conddent hope, that this decisive proof of the arnica- 
We sentiments which animate the councils of his 
Royal Hig'hness towards America, may accelerate 
the return of amitv and mutual confidence between 
Great-Britain and the Cnited States, 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity 
to repeat to Mr. Russell the assurances of his high 
consideration. 

CASTLEREAGH. 

Foreign Office, April 2 J, 1812. 
[COPY.] 
3Ir. Russell to lord Castlereayh. 

My Lord — I have the honor to acknowledge the 
receipt of the note which your lordship addressed to 
me on the 21st of this month, enclosinjv, by command 
of his Royal Hig'hness, the Prince Regent, a copy 
of a declaration accompanying an Order in Council 
which had this day been passed. 

It would afford me the highest satisfaction, in com- 
municating that declaration and order to my govern- 
ment, to have represented them, as conceived in the 
true spirit of conciliation and with a due regard to 
the honor and interests of the United States. I re- 
gret, however, that so far from perceiving- in them 
any evidence of the amicable sentiments which are 
professed to animate the councils of his Royal High- 
ness, I am compelled to consider them as an unequiv- 
ocal proof of the determination of his Britannic Ma- 
jesty's government to adhere to a system, which, botli 
as to principle and fact, originated, and has been con- 
tinued in error ; and against which, the government 
of the United States, so long as it respects itself and 
the essential rights of the nation over which it is placed, 
cannot cease to contend. 

The United Stales have never considered it their 
duty to enquire, nor do they pretend to decide, wheth- 
er England or France was guilty, in relation to the 
other, of the first violation of the public law of nations j 



tS4 KISTORT or THE WAS. 

bnt fbe^ do consider it their mod imperious doty t« 
protect KhevaseUea from the onjast operation of iHie 
wifneedeoied measoie of retahatkm professed hj 
httik ^amen, to be foooded on 99th ▼k>latioo. Iq 
Ah operatiOfi, bj whithewer partv directed, the Cnit- 
ed States have neirer fora moment acquiesced, 
the sligfateiit indication of sach acquiescence, 
ed a pretext, for extend'mg to them the erils, by w bich 
England and France a£^&ct to retaliate on each other. 
Ther have in no indance departed from the ob<^nr> 
ance of that strict impartialitj vbtch thteir pe^cefal 
position required, and irbich oagfat to bare seen red 
to them the onm<dested enjoyment of their neotratity. 
To their astMHsfamcnt, however, thej perceived that 
both these belligerent powers, ander the pretence of 
annof ing each other, adopted and pat in practice new 
principJei of retaliation, iarolring- the de^tmction of 
those commercial and maritime rights which tlie V n it- 
cd l^tates re^^d as esssoAial and inseparabie atlri« 
botes of their independence. Althon^b aiive to all 
the iDJnrj and irijustice of this system, the American 
goremoient resorted to no measares to oppose it, 
which were not of the nKMt pacific and iaif^rtial 
character in rei;.tioii to both the ag^ressor%. Ih re* 
OMmstraoces, its restnction5^ of commerciat it.ter* 
coone, and its overtores for accoromodatio:i, were 
ci|Danv addressed * F rfand and France: and if 
WjOt IS now an jne<, 1 1 tiie reiations of the C'nit- 

ed &lsA/bn w.th ti^e^ coantries, it can only be ascrib- 
ed to Eri^^tarid her»etf, who rejected the terms 
profffcre<i W IxAfa, while France accepted them, and 
who conlinQe>» to execate h^,r retaii^dorv Edicts om 
Ifae hi(^ teas, while those of France ha*, e here ceased 
to operate. 

If Greai^ Britain coold not J^ f>€ninaded by consid- 
cratioci^ of u.ii'»ers ' -; U, to retniri from a<lof>t-» 
iig an» Itfie of Con . ***>'er on|a^t, torAh«rh she 

■ii;H)t discover a precerient in iJie ccwl'ict of fier eo- 
t- -k J, , ,. k, — '• -frmotel; HO 1 unrer- 

t^ the ircuoecuaie 



HCrrORY OF THE WAR. ia»> 

•n4 sure destruction of the \\{,\\ inleivj^ o» a iieiitral 
and iinoffentliUiT state, yet it wascoutidontly exj>ected 
that she vroulii be willjngr to follow th^^t enemy alsotn 
his return towards justice, and, from a resptH't to her 
dwn declarations, to |>rooeed pari fkisan with him in 
the revocation ot the offeadiriij Edicts. This jnsl 
exj>ecUition has, however, bet^i disap|K>inted. and an 
exemption o\ the dagr of the I'mled iStates from the 
o|>eratioji of the B«. iltu and M:lan Dicrees. has pro- 
duced no correspond lUiif moditicalion of the Bnlish 
Orders in Council. On the contrary, the (-acK of such 
exemption tm the part of France, -. hy the de- 

claralKMi and Order lu Conned oi isli ^n em- 

inent on tile 21st of this month, to t>e deuieii, and the 
engtiar^menls of the latter, to prvHved. step h> step, 
with itseiiemv, m tlie work of repeal and relaxntion. 
to he disowned or disrepirdtHl. 

That Fi ance has .\ ' I her Decrivs so far as 
the\ res^>ected the LTm . ". ;;es 1ki> btvn eslablisheii 
by declarations and facts. sali>factory lo IIknu, and 
which it was [v: \\ should ha\elven equally sat- 

isfaiMory to tlu i i government, A formal and 

authentic declaration o\ the Fivnch jj;^overiunent com- 
municattnl t«» the minister plenipotentiary oftlie Unit- 
ed States at Faris, on the otli of Anj;ii>i, 1810, aM- 
nounced that tl>e Decrees of Berlin and Milan wert 
^€^^oked, and should cease to operate on the Isl of the 
succiHHlinji- iSovember, provided thai a convlilion pre- 
seuted to Koijland, or anotiier condition preseaUni !• 
the Unittni Slates should be perlormed. The cond:- 
ti<>n presenttni to thi^ I'n.ted SUites was ivrformei}. 
aiKl their ^HTl'ormance reuieivd absolute the repeal 
of the Divrees. So far Uieix^fori\ tVom this ivjh^iJ 
dependiuij upon a ^^>ndllion in which (uval-Britain 
(^uld not actpnesce. it l>ecame absolute, indopenilent 
"itf any act «>f Great-Bntam, ihe moment the act pro- 
p«>sed lor the performance of U)e United Su»tes wav 
accomplishe\l. Such was toe construelion sjiven te 
this measure by the Ud ed States from tiie tirsl ; and 
that it wjis a correct one h;us been suihciently evinct d 
by the sultsequent pnictice. 



12t) HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Several instances of the acquittal of American ves- 
sels and cargoes, to which the Decrees would have 
attaciied, if still in force against the United States, 
have, from time to time, been presented, to his Brit- 
tannic Majesty's government. That these cases 
have been few, is to be ascribed to the few captures, 
in consequence of this repeal, made by French cruiz- 
ers : and should no other such case occur, it would be 
owing to the efficacy of this repeal, and to the exact 
observance of it, even by the most wanton and irreg- 
ular of those cruizers. 

From the 1st of November, 1810, to the 29th of 
January of the present year, as appears by a note 
which I had the honor to address to the predecessor 
of your lordship, on the 8th of February last, the Ber- 
lin and Milan Decrees had not been applied to Amer- 
ican property, nor have I heard that such application 
has since been made. 

But against the authentic act of the French govern- 
ment of the 5th of August, 1810, and the subsequent 
conduct of the government mutually explaining each 
other, and conforming the construction adopted by 
the United States, a report said to be communicated 
by the French minister of foreign affairs to the con- 
servate senate, is opposed. Without pretending to 
doubt the genuineness of that report, although it has 
reached this country only in a newspaper, yetitisto be 
lamented that as ranch form and evidence of authenti- 
city have not been required, in an act considered as 
furnishing cause for the continuance of the Orders in 
Council, as an act which by the very terms of these 
Orders challenged their revocation. — The act of the 
5th of August, 1810, emanating from the sovereign of 
France, otiicially communicated to the British govern- 
ment, and satisfactorily expounded and explained by 
the practical comments of more than eighteen months, 
is denied to afford convincing evidence of the repeal 
of the French Decrees, while fidl proof of their con- 
tinuance is inferred from a report, which, from its 
very nature, must contain the mere opinions and spe- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 127 

culationspfa subject which is destitute of all author- 
ity until acted upon by the body to which it was prel 
sented, which has found its way hither in no more 
authentic shape than the columns of the Moniteur. 
and for the proper understanding of which not a mo- 
ment has been allowed.— But even were the cause 
Ihus assigned to the report just, it is still difficult to 
f discover what inference can be fairlv deduced from 
I It incompatible with the previous declarations and 
I conduct ot the French government exemptino- the 
United States from the operation of its Decrees.'' The 
very exception in that report with regard to nations 
who do -not suffer their flag to be denationalized, was 
undoubtedly made with reference to the United 
fetates, and with a view to reconcile the general tenor 
of that report with the good faith with which it became 
France to observe the conventional repeal of those 
decrees in their favor. However novel may be the 
terms employed, or whatever may be their precise 
meaning, they ought to be interpreted to accord with 
the engagements of the French government, and with 
justice arid good faith. 

Your lordship will, I doubt not, the more readily 
acknowledge the propriety of considering the report, 
in this light, by a reference to similar reports made to 
the same conservative senate, on the 13th of Dec 
1810, by the duke of Cadore (the predecessor of the 
present l^renchmmister of exterior relations) and bv 
the count deSmionville. In these reports they say 
to the emj>eror, (which proves that such reports are 
not to be considered as dictated by him) * Sire, as Ion<- 
as England shall peri>t in her Orders in Council, so 
long your IVIajesly wdl persist in your Decrees,' ami 
•the Decrees of Berlin and Mdan are an answer to 
tl>c Orders in Council. The Lntish cabinet, has, thus 
to speak, dictated them to France. Europe rece-e 
them ior her code, and this code shall become *Uu 
pailad.um of the liberty of the seas.' Surely this W 
gnage IS as strong as that of i!ie report of the 1 Ot!,' r">'^ 
March and still more absoUUe : W-.v rlir iv is pm qr- ' 



128 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

fication in it in favor of any nation ; tbis language has 
both, bv an explanation of the duke of Cadore to 
»ie at the same time, and by the uniform conduct of 
the French government since, been reconciled with 
the repeal of ihese Decrees, so far as they concerned 
the United States. 

Had the French Decrees originally afforded ail 
adequate foundation for the British Oiders in Conned, 
and been continued at\er these reports, in full force, 
and extent, surely durmg- a period in which above a 
hundred Auierican vessels and their cargoes have fal- 
len a prey to these Orders, some one solitary nistance 
of cajiture and confiscation must have happened under 
those Decrees. That no such instance has happened 
incontroverlibly proves either that those Decrees, are 
of themselves harmless, or that they have been repeal- 
ed ^ and in either case they can afford no rightful plea 
or pretext for Great-Britain, for these measuies of pre- 
tended retaliation, whose sole effect is to lay waste 
the neutral commerce of America. 

\Vith the remnant of those Decrees, which is stdl 
in force, and which consists of municipal regulations, 
confined in their operation within the proper and un- 
deniable jurisdiction of the States where they are exe- 
cuted the United States have no concern ; nor do 
t,hey acknowledge themselves to be under any politi- 
cal obligation, either to examine into the ends propos- 
ed to be attained bv this surviving portion of the con- 
tinental system, or 'to oppose their accomplishment. 
VVIiatever may be intended to be done in regard to 
other nations by this system, cannot be imputed to the 
United States, nor are they to be made responsible, 
Avhile they relioMonsly observe the obligations of their 
neutrality for ^the modem which belligerent nations^ 
mav choose to exercise their power, for the injury ot 
racli other. When, however, these nations exceed 
the just limits of their power by the invasion ot the 
rio-his of peaceful states on the ocean which is sul)ject 
to'^lhe conmion and equal jurisdiction of all nations, 
the United States cannot remain indifferent, and by 



HISTORY or THE WAR. I2a 

fljuielly consenting to yield up their share of this juris- 
diction, abandon their maritime rights. — France ha<? 
respected these rights by the discontinuance of her 
Edicts on the high seas ; leaving no part of these 
Edicts in operation to the injury of the United States; 
and of cours6, no part in which they can be supposed 
to acquiesce, or against which they can be required 
to contend. They ask Great-Britain, by a like re- 
spect for their rights, to exempt them from the ope- 
ration of her Orders in Council. Should such ex- 
emption involve the total practical extinction of these 
Orders, it will only prove that they were exclusively 
applied to the commerce of the United States, and 
that they had not a single feature of resemblance to 
the Decrees, against wliich they are professed to re- 
taliate. 

It is with patience and confidence that the United 
States have expected this exemption, and which they 
believed themselves entitled, by all those considera- 
tions of right and promise, which I have freely stat- 
ed to your lordship. With what disappointment, 
therefore, must they learn that Great-Britain, in pro- 
fessing to do away their disaftection, explicitly avows 
her intention to persevere in her Orders in Council, 
until some authentic act hereafter to be promulgated 
by the French government, shall declare the Berlin 
and Miian Decrees are expressly and unconditionally 
repealed. To obtain such an act can the United 
States interfere ? Would such an interference hd 
compatible either with a sense of justice or with what 
is due to their own dignity? Can they be expected 
to falsify their repeated declarations of their satisfac- 
tion with the act of the oth of August, 18 10, confirm- 
ed by abundant evidence of its subsequent observ-^ 
ance, and by now aftectingto doubt of the sufficien- 
cy of that act, to demand another, which in its form, 
its mode of publication, and its import, shall accord 
with the requisitions ot Great-Britain ? And can it be 
supposed that the French government would listen to 
17 



130 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

such a proposal made under such circuni stances, and 
with such a view ? 

While, therefore, I can perceive no reason, in the 
rej)ort of the French minister, of the 10th of March, 
to believe thattlie United States erroneously/ assumed 
the re|.eal of the French Decrees, to be complete in 
relation to them ; while aware that the condition of 
which the Orders in Council is now distinctly made 
to depend, is the total repeal of both the Berlin and Mi- 
lan Decrees, instead as forn)erly of the Berlin Decree 
only ; and while I feel that to ask the performance 
of this condition from otheis, inconsistent with the 
honor of the United States, and to perform it them- 
selves beyond their power; your lordship will per- 
mit me frankly to avow that 1 cannot accompany the 
communication to my government, of the declaration 
and Order m Council of the 21st of this month, with 
any felicilation on the prospect which this measure 
presents of an accellerated return of amity and mu- 
tual confidence between the two states. 

It is with real pain that I make to your lordship 
this avowal, and I will seek stdt to confide in the 
spirit which your lordship in your note, and in the 
conversation of this morning, has been pleased to say 
actuates the councils of his Koyal Highness in rela- 
tion to America, and still to cherish a hope that the 
spirit will lead, upon a review of the whole ground, 
to measures of a nature better calculated to attain this 
object, and that this object will no longer be made to 
depend on the conduct of a third power, or contmgen- 
cies over which the United States have no controul, 
but alone upon the rights of the United States, the 
justice of Great-Britain, and the conmion interests 
of both. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 
(Signed) JONATHAN KUSSELL. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 131" 

c. \The following Order in Council should Iwve been 
inserted in pa fje l'2-i.] 

ORDER IN COUNCfL. 

At the Court at CaiUoti-Honse, the 21st day of 
April, 1812, present his Royal Hij^hness tlie Prince 
Rey;ent in Council. 

Wh ereas the jyoverntiierit of France has, hv an offi- 
cial report, communicated by its minister of Foreign 
aftair ! to the conservative Senate, on tlie lOlli of 
>VIarch last, removed all doul)ts as to the perseverance 
of that iifovernment in the assertion of principles, and 
in the in lintonunce of a system, not more hostile to 
the maritime rights and commercial interest of the 
British empire, Ihan inconsistent with the rights and 
independence ot neutral nations, and has iherehy 
plainly developed the inordinate pretensions which 
that system, as promulgated in the Decrees of Berlin 
and Milan, was from the lirst designed to enforce. 

And whereas his Majesty has invariaMy professed 
his readiness to revoke the Ordi-rs in Council adopted 
thereupon, as soon as the said Decrees of the enemy 
should he formally and unconditionally repealed, and 
the commerce of neutral nations restored to its accus- 
tomed course : 

His Royal Highness the Prince Regent (anxious 
to give the most decisive proof of Mis Royal High- 
ness' disposition to perform the engagements of his 
Majesty's government^ is pleased, in the name and on 
the behalf of his Majestv, and by and with the advice 
of his Majesty's Privy C )uncil, to order and declare, 
and it is hereby ordered and declared that if, at any, 
time hereafter, the Berlin and Milan Decrees shall by 
some authentic act of the French government, publicly 
promulgated, be absolutely and unconditionally re- 
pealed, then, and from thenceforth, the Order in 
Council of die 7tli day of January, 1807, and the 
Order in Council of the 26lh day of April, 1809, 
shall, without any fiu-ther order, be, and the same are 
hereby declared from thenceforth to be wholly and 



V62 HISTORY OF THE WAU. 

aJbsolulely revoked ; and furllier, that the tu\l beiiefit 
of this order shall he extendet.! to any ship or cargo 
captured subsequent to such authentic act of repeal 
of the French Decrees, although antecedent to such 
repeal such ship or vessel shall have commenced and 
shall have been in the prosecution of a voyage which, 
under the said Orders in Council, or one of them, 
'svould have subjected her to capture and condemna- 
tion ; and the claimant of any ship or cargo which 
shall be captured or brought to adjudication, on ac- 
count of any alleged breach of either of the said Or- 
ders in Council, at any time subsequent to such au- 
thentic act of repeal by the French government, shall 
•without any further Order or Declaration on the part 
of his^lajesty's government on this subject, be at lib- 
erty to give in evidence in the high C )arts of Adaii- 
raltv, or any Court of Vice- Admiralty, before whicli 
such ship or cargo shall be t/rought lor adjudication, 
that such repeal by the French govenimeot had been, 
bv such authentic act, promulgated prior to such 
capture ; and upon proof thereof, the voyage shall be 
deemed and taken to have been as lawful as if the 
sad Orders in Council had never been made : saving, 
uevertheless, to the captors, such protection and in- 
demnity as they may be equitably entitled to in the 
judgment of the said Court, by reason of their ignor- 
ance, of uncertainty as to the repeal of the French 
Decrees, or of the recognition of such repeal by his 
Majesty's government at the time of such capture. 

His Royal Highness, however, deems it proper to 
declare, that should the repeal of the French Decrees, 
thus anticipated and provided for, prove afterwards 
to have been illusory on the part of the enemy ; and 
should the restrictions thereof be still practically en- 
forced, or revived by the enemy; Great-Britain will 
be compelled, however reliictiintlv, after reasonable 
notice, to have recourse to such measures of retalia- 
tion as may then appear to be just and necessary. 

And the Right Honorable the lords commission- 
ers of his Majesty's treasury, his Majesty's principal 



HISTORY OT THE WAR. ISS 

Secretaries of state, the lords Commissioners of the 
Adtniraltv, and the Jad^es of the high Cjnrt ot Ad- 
miralty, and the Judges of the Court* oi Vice-Admi- 
raliy, are to take the neeeasani measures therein as to 
them shall respectively appertain. 

CHETWVND. 



Prerious to the Declaration of War, Gen. Hall, 
with about two thousand men, was ordered to proceed 
to Detroit. — The army arrived at the head of Lake 
Er.e, about the time war was declared ; and >e>trral 
officers, and I tdies, with the baggage of the General 
Officer^, proceeded down the Lake ti> Delrf'it, in a 
gun vessel. — The Bntuh received the news of the 
war before Gen. Hull, and sent a brig in pursuit of 
his baggage, which succeede J in c- i her, and 

carried her into Maiden. — The Bi -. mmander 
sent the ladies over to Deirott, in a da:^ of truc^, 
which wjisthe first intelligence thej had received of 
the war. 

Gen. Hull, after concentrating his forc-rs, at Detroit^ 
crossed over the river to Saiidwich, and isooe^i the 
Iv^Liowing^ sias^ular General Order. 

BY WliLIAM HtXL, 

Brigadier General and Comm.jjider of the Xorik 
Western Arniif of the I nited states : 
A PROCLAMATION. 
Inhabitants or Canada I 

After thirty years of peace and prosperity, the 
United States have been driven to arms. Th^ inja- 
nes and aggressions, the insults and mdigniticis of 
Great-Britain have once more lefi them no alterna- 
tive bat manly resistance, or unconditional submis- 
sion. The army under mv command has invaded 
your country ; the standard of the Union ao»v waves 
» over the territory of Canada. To the peaceable un- 
offending inhabitant, it brings neither danger nor dif- 
ficulty. I come to tind enemies, not to make them. 
I c»me to protect, not to injure you. 






iJj4 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 



Separated by an immense ocean and an extensive 
wilderness from Great-Britain, yon have no partici- 
pation in her councils, no interest in her conduct. 
\"ou have felt her tyranny, you have seen her injus- 
tice. But I do not ask you to avenge the one, or to 
redress the other. Tlie United States are sufficiently 
powerful to afford every security, consistent with their 
rights and your expectations. [ tender you the in- 
valuable blessing- of civil, political and religious lib- 
erty, and their necessary result, individual and gen- 
eral prosperity ; that liberty which gave decision to 
our councils, and energy to our conduct in a struggle 
for independence, vthich conducted us safely and 
triumphantly through the stoimy period of the revo- 
lution — that liberty which has raised iis to an elevated 
rank among the nations of the world ; and which af- 
forded us a greater measure of peace and security, 
of wealth and improvement, than ever fell to the lot 
of any people. In the name of my country, and the 
authority of government, I promise you protection to 
your persons, property and rights ; remain at your 
homes ; pursue your peaceful and customary avoca- 
tions; raise not your hands against your brethren. 
Many of your fathers fought for the freedom and in- 
dependence we now enjoy. Being children therefore 
of the same family with us, and heirs to the same 
heritage, the arrival of an army of friends must be 
hailed by yon with a cordial welcome. — You will be 
emancipated from tyranny and oppression, and re- 
stored to the dignified station of freedom. — Had I 
any doubt of eventual success, I might ask your as- 
sistance, but I do not. I come prepared for every 
contingency — I have a force which will break down 
all opposition, and that force is but the van-guard of a 
much greater.— If, contrary to your own interest and the 
just expectations of my country, you should take part 
in i\\e aj)proaching contest, you will beconsidered and 
treated as enemies, and the horrors and calamities of 
-war will stalk before you. If the barbarous and sav- 
age policy of Great-Britain be pursued, and the sava- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 135 

ges are let loose to murder our citizens and butcher 
our women and children, this nar will be a nar of' 
extermniation. The tirst stroke ot the tomahawk — 
the first attempt with the scalping knife, will be the 
signal of one indiscriminate scene of desolation. No 
white man found fighting by the «side of an Indian 
will be taken prisoner — instant death will be his lot. 
If the dictates of reason, duty, justice, and humanity, 
cannot prevent the employment of a force which re- 
spects no rights, and knows no wrong, it will be pre- 
vented by a severe and relentless system of retaliation. 
I doubt not your courage and tiimness — I will not 
doubt your attachment to liberty. If you tender 
your services voluntarily, they will be accepted read- 
ily. The United Stales offer you peace, liberty, and 
security. Your choice lies between these and war, 
slavery and destruction. — Choose then ; but choose 
wisely ; and may He who knows the justice of our 
cause, and who holds in his hand the fate of nations, 
guide you to a result the most compatible with your 
rights and interests, }our peace and happiness. 
By the General, 

A. P. HULL, 
Captain of the I3th United States' ref/iment of In- 
faniri/y and Aid-de-cawp. 
Head-quarters^ Sandwich, Jiili/ 12, 1812. 

WILLIAM HULL. 

On tlie lOlhof July, Colonels Cass and Miller, aU 
tempted to surprise a British post, 300 strong, at a 
bridge about five miles from Maiden. — They were 
discov< red by the British, and after a slight skirmish, 
the British retreated, leaving eleven men killed and 
wounded, on the field ; our troops returned to head- 
quarters, at Sandwich, and the British re-posted them- 
selves again, at the bridge. On the 19th and 24th 
there was considerable skirmishing, with trifling suc- 
cess, on either side — our loss was six men killed and 
wounded — the British and Indians, lost sixteen killr-d. 
and several wounded 



136 HISTORY OF TIli:i WAR- 

Soon after General Hull had crossed from Detroit; 
into Canada, and had issued his Proclamation, the 
greater part of the Militia of the neighboring* country, 
gave themselves up to his protectian, or returned 
home peaceably, resolving to stand neutral, in the 
contest. — Large bodies of the Savage tribes oftered 
their services to Gen. Hull, previous to his leaving 
Detroit, but he informed them that he was not autho-* 
vised to accept them, and wished them to remain si- 
lent spectators, and not engage on eitiier side ; but 

this was not their choice they immediately 

crossed over to Maiden, where they were accepted, 
and put into service by the British ; which circura* 
stance contributed largely to overthrow (^en. Hull, 
as will be seen by his othcial account of the surrender 
of Detroit and Michigan Territory, which we give 
at full length, with the remonstrance against his con* 
duct, of several officers under his command. 

Capt. Hull's Letter to the Secretary of 
THE Navy. 

United Slates Frigate Coustituiion,}^ 
off Boston Lighty Avg. '30, 1812. } 

SIR~I have the honor to inform you, that on the 10th 
instant, at 2 p. m. being in latitude 41, 42, longitude 
55, 48, with the Constitution, under my command, a 
sail was discovered from tlie mast-head bearing E. by 
S. or E. S. E. bu^ at such a distance we could not 
tell what she was. All sail was instantly made in 
chase, and soon found we came up with her. At 3 
p. M. could plainly see that she was a ship on the star^ 
board tack, under easy sail, close on a wind j at half 
past 3 p. M. made her out to be a Frigate ; continued 
the chase until we were within about tliiee miles, when 
I ordered the light sails lakien in, the courses hauled 
up, and the ship cleared for action. At this time the 
chase had backed his main-topsail, waiting for us to 
come down. As soon as the Constitution w as ready 
for action, I bore down with an intention to bring hiui 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 137 

tocloseaction immediately ; but on our coming within 
gun-shot she gave us a broadside, and filed -away, and 
wore, j^iving" us a broadside on the other tack, but 
without effect ; her shot falling short. She contntued. 
wearing and manoeuvring for about three quarters of 
•cvn hour, to get a raking position, but finding she 
could not, she bore up, and run under her top-sails 
and gib, with the wind on the quarter. Immediately 
made sail to bring the ship up with her, anil 5 min- 
utes before six, P. m. bemg along side within half pis- 
tol shot, we commenced a heavy fire from all our 
guns, double shotted with round and grape, and so 
well directed were they, and so warmly kept up, that 
in lo minutes his mizen-mast went by the board and 
his main-yard in the slings, and the hull, rigging, and 
sails, very much torn to pieces. The fire was kept up 
with equal warmth for !•'> minutes longer, when his 
main-mast and foremast went, taking with them every 
spar, excepting the bowsprit : on seeing this we ceas- 
ed firing, so tiiat in 30 minutes after we got fairly alongv 
side the enemy, she ^surrendered, a:id had not a spar 
standing, and her hull, below and above water, so 
shattered, that a few more broadsides must have car- 
vied her down. 

After inforaung you that so fine a ship as the Giir- 
rieiv, commanded by an able and experienced ofiScer, 
had been totally dismasted, ;md otherwise cut to pie- 
ces, so as to make her not worth towing into port, in 
the short space of 'SO minutes, you can have no doubt 
of the gallantry and good conduct of the officers and 
ship's company I have the honor to command ; it only 
remains, therefore, for me to assure you, that they all 
fought with great bravery ; and it gives me great 
pleasure to say, that from the smallest boy in the ship 
to the oldest seaman, not a look of fear was seen. Tliey 
all went into action, giving three cheers and request- 
ing to be laid close along side the enemy. 

Enclosed I have the honor to send you a list of kil- 
led and wounded on board the Constitution, and a 
report of the damages she has su>!tained : also a list 
A8 



138 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

of the killed and wounded on board the enemy, with 
his quarter bill, Sec. 

I have the honor to be^ with very great res[»ect, sir, 
your obedient servant, 

ISAAC HULL. 
To the lion. Paul Hamilton^ 8^c. 

Return of Killed and Wounded on board the U. S. 
Friyale COi\JSTITCJ'JJON. 
Killed. Seven. 
Wounded. Seven. 
Tolal killed and wounded Fourteen. 
List of' Kdiedf Wotmdedf and nnssin(/f on board the 
GUEhiilEHE, 
Killed. Fifteen. 
Wounded. Sixty-two. 
Missing. Twenty -four.* 
Total killed, wounded, and missing", 101. 



ORDERS IN COUNCIL REVOKED. 

At the Court at Carlton House, the 2:3(i day oi 
June, |>reseiit, his Royal Highness, the Prince Re- 
gent in Council. 

Whereas his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent 
was pleased to declare, in the name and on behalf of 
his Majesty, on the 21st of April, 1812, * That if at 
any time hrreafter, the Berlin and Milan Decrees 
shall by some authentic act of the French government, 
publicly promulgated, be absolutely and uncondition- 
ally repealed, then, and from theuce, the Order in 
Council oi the 7th of January, 1807, and the Order 
in Council of the 2Glh of April, 1809, shall without 
any further order, be, and the same are hereby declar- 
ed from thenceforth to bo wholly and absolutely re- 
voked.' 

* Supposed to have gone overboard with tho masts. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. \S0 

And whereas the charade d affairs of the United 
States of America, resident at this Court, did, on the 
21st day of May last, transmit to lord viscount Ciistie- 
reagh, one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries, a 
copy of a certain instrnmeiit, then for the first time 
communicated to this Cotu-t, purporting to be a De- 
cree passed by the government ot Fiance, on the 28th 
day of April, 1811, by which the Decrees of Berlin 
and Milan are declared to be definitely no long^er in 
force m regard to American vessels : 

And whereas his Royal Highness, the Prince Re- 
cent, althoug'h he cannot consider the tenor of said 
instrument as satisfy in"' the coiulitions set forth in the 
said Order of tlie 21st of April last, upon which the 
said Orders were to cease and determine, is neverthe- 
less disposed, on his part, to take such measures as 
may tend to re-establish the intercourse between neu- 
tral and belligerent nations, upon its accustomed prin- 
ciples, his Royal Hij^hness, the Prince Recent, in the 
name and on the behalf of his Majesty, is therefore 
pleased, by and with the advice ot his INlajesty's privy 
council, to order and declare, and it is hereby order- 
ed and declared, that the Oriler in Ciumcil bearing 
date the 7lh day ot January, 1807, and the Order in 
Council bearing date the 2titi) day of April, 1809, be 
revoked, so far as may rej^ard American vessels and 
their cargoes, being American pro[)erty, from the 1st 
day of August next. 

But whereas by certain acts of the government of 
the United States of America, all British armed ves- 
sels are excluded from the harbors and waters of the 
said United Stales, the armed vessels ot" France being 
permitted to enter therein, and the commercial inter- 
course between Great-Britain and the said United 
States IS interdicted, the commercial intercourse be- 
tween France and the said Uiiited States havina: been 
restored : his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent is 
pleased hereby further to declare, in the name and on 
the behalf of his Majesty, that if the governnent of 
the said United States shall not as soon as niav be, 



140 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

dier ibis order shall-Jvave been duly notified by his 
Majesty's ministerin America to the said troverniuent, 
revoke or caii>e to be revoked the said acts, this pre- 
sent Order shall, in that case, after clear notice si«^ni- 
fied by his Majesty's minister in America, to the said 
government, be tlienceforth null and of iio effect. 

It is further ordered and declared, that all Amer- 
ican vessels and their cargoes, being American prop- 
erty, that shall have been captured subsequently to 
the 28th of May last, for a breach of the aforesaid 
Orders in Council alone, and which shall not hate 
been actu.dly condemned before the date of this Or- 
der, and that all ships and cargoes as aforesaid, that 
shall henceforth be captured under the said Orders, 
prior to the 1st day of August next, shall not be pro- 
ceeded agauist to condemnation, until further orders, 
but shall, m the evet»t of this Order not becoming null 
and of no eliect, in the case aforesaid, be forthwith, 
liberated and restored, subject to such reasonable ex-, 
pencts on the part of the captors, as shall have been 
justly incurred. 

Provided that nothing in the Order contained re- 
specting the levocation of the Orders herein meution-. 
ed, shall be taken to revive wholly, or in part, the 
Orders in Council of the 11th of November, 1807, oif 
any other Order not herein mentioned, or to deprive 
parties of any legal remedy to which they may be en- 
titled, under the Order m Council, of the 21st of 
April, 1812. 

His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent is hereby 
pleased further to declare, in thenameatul on the be- 
half of his Majesty, that nothing in the present Order 
contained shall be understood to preclude his Royal 
Highness, the Prince Regent, if circumstances shall 
so require, from restoring after reasonable notice, the 
Orders of the 7lh of Jaiuiary, 1807, and the 2(ith of 
April, 1800, or any part thereof, to their lull effect, or 
from taking such other measures of retaliation against 
the enenty, as nsay appear to his Royal Highnes-s t» 
be just and necessary. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 141 

And the right honorable the lords commissioners 
of his Majesty's treasury, liis Majesty's principal Se- 
cretaries of state, the lords commissioners of the Ad- 
miralty, and the Jndoe of ihe hisi^h Court of Admralty, 
and the Judge of the Court oi Vice- Admiralty, are to 
take the necessary measures herein, as to them may 
respectively appertani. 



GEN. HULL'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT 
OF HIS SURRENDER. 

Montreal, 8th Sept. 1812. 

SIR — The inclosed dispatch was prepared on my 
arrival at Fort George, and it was niv nitentio!i to 
have forwarded it from that place by Major Witherell, 
of the Michigan volunteers. I n»ade application to 
the comnianamg officer at that |»ost, and was refused; 
he stating that he was not authorised, ai;d Gen. Brock 
wa« then at York. We were immediately embarked 
for this place, and Major VVitiierell obtained liberty 
at Kingston to go home on parole. 

Tins IS the first opportunity 1 have had to forward 
the dispatches. 

The fourth United Sates* regiment is destined for 
Quebec, with a part ol the first. The whole consist 
of a little over three hundred. 

Sir George Prevost, without any request on -my 
part, has offered to take my parole, and permit me to 
proceed to the States. 

Lieut. Anderson, of the eighth regiment, is the 
bearer of my disj)atches. He was formerly a Lieut, 
in the Artillery, and resigned his commission on ac- 
count of being appointed Marshal of the Territory of 
Michigan. During the campaign he has had a com- 
mand m the Artillery ; and I recommend him to you 
as a valuable officer. 

He is particularly acquainted with the state of 
things previous, and at the time when the capitulation 
took place. He will be able to give you correct in- 



142 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

formation on any points, about which you may think 
proper to enquire. 

I am, very respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 
WILLIAM HULL. 
Hon. W. Eustis, Secretary of the Department of War, 

THE DISPATCH. 

Fort George, August 20, 1812. 
SIR — Inclosed are the articles of capitulation, by 
which the Fort of Detroit has been surrendered to 
Mi\jor-General Brock, commanding his Britannic 
Majesty's forces in Upper Canada, and by which 
the troops have become prisoners of war. My situa- 
tion at present forbids me from detailing" the particu- 
lar causes which have led to this unfortunate event. 
I will, however, generally observe, that after the sur- 
render of Michilimackinac, almost every tribe and 
nation ot Indians, excepting a part of the Miamies and 
Datawares, north from beyond Lake Superior, west 
from beyond the Mississippi, south from the Ohio and 
Wabash, and east from every part of Upper Canada, 
and from all the intermediate country, joined in open 
hostility under the British standard, against ihe army 
I commanded, contrary to the most solemn assuran- 
ces of a large portion of them to remain neutral ; 
even the Ottawa Chiefs from Arbecrotch, who form- 
ed tliC delegation to Washington the last summer, in 
whose friendship I know you had great coiitidence, 
are amoi g the hostile tribes, and several of them dis- 
tinguished leaders. Among the vast number of cliiefs 
who led the hostile bands, Tecumseh, Marplot, Lo- 
gan, Walk-in-the-water, Split-Log, (!^c. are consider- 
ed the prmcipals. This numerous assemblage of 
savages, under the entire influence and direction of 
the British commander, enabled him totally to ob- 
struct the only communication whi< h I had with my 
country. This communication had been opened 
from the settlements in the state of Ohio, two hun- 
dred miles through a wilderness, by the fatigues of 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 143 

the army, which I inarched to the frontier on the ri- 
ver Detroit. The body of the Lake being command- 
ed b\ the British armed ships, and the shores and ri- 
vers by gun-boats, the army was totalis deprived of all 
communication by water. On this extensive road it 
depended for transportation of provisions, military 
stores, medicine, clothing, and every other supply, on 
pack-horses — all its operations were successful until 
its arrival at Detroit, — in a few days it passed into 
the enemy's country, and all opposition seemed to fall 
before it. One month it remained in possession of this 
country, and was fed from its resources. lu difterent 
directions detachments penetrated sixty miles in the 
seltled part of the province, and the inhabitants seem- 
ed satisfied with the change of situation, which ap- 
peared to be taking place the militia from Amherst- 
burg- were daily deserting, and the whole country, 
tlieii under the control of the army, was asking for 
protection. Tiie Indians generally, in the first in- 
stance, appeared to be neutralized, and determined 
to take no part in the contest. The fort of Amherst- 
burg was eighteen miles below my encampment. 
JNol a single cannon or mortar was on wheels suita- 
ble to carry before that place. I consulted my offi- 
cers, whether it was expedient to make an attempt 
on it with the bayonet alone, without cannon to make 
a breach in the first instance. The council I called 
was of the opinion it was not — The greatest industry 
was exerted in making preparation, and it was not 
until the 7th of August, that two 24-pounders and 
three howitzers were prepared. It was then my in- 
tention to have proceeded on the enterprise. While 
the operations of the army w ere delayed by these 
preparations, the clouds of adversity had been for some 
time and seemed still thickly to be gathering around 
me. The surrender of Mictiiiimackinac opened the 
northern hive of Indians, and they were swarming 
down in exevy direction. Reinforcements from Nia- 
gara had arrived at Amherslburg under the command 
of Colonel Proctor. The desertion of the militia ceas- 



144 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

ed. Besides the reinlorcements that came by Water, 
I received mformalion of a very coiisitlerable force un- 
der the coniraand ot Major Chambers, on the nver 
Le French, with four field-pieces, and collecting the 
militia on his route, evidently destined i<w Amherst- 
burg ; and in addition to this combination, and in- 
crease of force, contrary to all my expectations, the 
.Wyandots, Chippevvas, Ottavvas, Pottauatnmies, 
Munsees, Delawares, Stc. with whom I had the most 
friendly intercourse, at once passed over to Amherst- 
bnrg, and accepted the tomahawk and scalping* knife. 
There being now a vast number of Indians at the British 
post, ihey were sent to the river Huron, Brownstown, 
and Maguago to intercept my communication. To 
open this communication, I detached Maj. Vanhorne 
of the Ohio volunteers with two hundred men to pro- 
ceed as far as the river Raisin, under an expectation 
he would meet Capt. Brush with one hundred and 
fifty men, volunteers from the state of Ohio, and a 
quantity of provision for the army. An ambuscade 
was formed at Brownst^^wn, and Maj. Vanhoi'n's de- 
tachment defeated and returnedto camp without effect- 
ing ihe object of the expedition. 

In my letter oi the 7th inst. you have tlie particu- 
lars of that transaction, with a return of the killed and 
wounili'd. Under this sudden srnd unexpected 
change of things, and having received an express from 
General Hall, commanding opposite the British shore 
on the Niagara river, by which it appeared that there 
was no prospect of any co-operation from that quar- 
ter, and the two senior officers of the artillery having 
stated to me an opinion that it would be extremely 
difficult, if not impossible, to pass the Turkey river 
and river Aux-Cannard, with the 24-pounders, and 
that they could not be transported by water, as the 
Q,ueen-Chariotte w hich carried eighteen 24-pounders, 
lay in the river Detroit above the moulh of the river 
Aux-Cannard ; and as it apj)eared indispensibly ne- 
cessary to open tlie communication to the river Raisin 
and the Miami, I found myself compelled to suspend 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 146 

the operation against Anaherslburg', and concentrate 
tlie main force of the army at Detroit. Fully intend- 
ing, at that time, after the communication was opened, 
to re-cross the river, and pursue the object at Am- 
herslburg, and strongly desirous of continuing pro- 
tection to a very large number of the inhabitants of 
Upper Canada, who had volunlarily accepted it un- 
der my proclamation, I established a fortress on the 
banks of the river, a little below Detroit, calculated 
for a garrison of three hundred men. On the evenino* 
of the 7th, and morning of the 8th inst. the army, ex- 
cepting the garrison of 250 infantry, and a corps of 
artillerists, all under the command of Major Den- 
ny of the Ohio volunteers, re-crossed the river, and 
encamped at Detroit. In pursuance of the object of 
opening the communication, on which I considered 
the existence of the army depending, a detachment of 
six hundred men, under the command of lieut. Colonel 
Miller was immediately ordered. For a particular 
account of the proceedings of this detachment, and 
the memorable battle which was fought at Maguago, 
which reflects the highest honor on the American 
arms, I refer you to my letter of the 13th of August, 
a duplicate of which is enclosed, in this. Noth- 
ing however but honor was acquired by this victory; 
and it is a painful consideration, that the blood of 
seventy-tive gallant men could only open the commu- 
nication as far as the points of their bayonets extend- 
ed. The necessary care of the sick and wounded, 
and a very severe stoi-m of rain, rendered their return 
to camp indispensably necessary for their own com- 
fort^ Captain Brush, with his small detachment, and 
the provisions, being still at the river Raisin, and in a 
situation to be destroyed by the savages, on the 13th 
inst. in the evening, I permitted Colonels M'Arthur 
and Cass to select from their regiment four hundred 
of their most effective men, and proceed an upper 
route through the woods, which I iiad sent an express 
to Capt. Brush to take, and had directed the militia 
of the river Raisin to accompany him as a reinforce- 
19 



14G HISTORY OP THE WAKt. 

mcnt. The iorce of the enemy continually increase 
ing, and the necessity of openiiig- the conjniunication, 
anci acting on the delensive, becoming more appar- 
ent, I had, previous to detachmg Colonels M'Arlhur 
and Cass, on the 11th inst. evacuated and destroyed 
the fort on the opposite bank. On the 13th, in the 
evening, Ge:;. Brock arrived at AmI.erstburg about 
the hour Coioncis M' Arthur and Cass marched, of 
which at that time I had received no information. 
On the 15ih, I lectived a summons from him to sur- 
render fort Detrojl, ot which I herewitii enclose you 
a copy, togeiher with my ansvvtr. At this time I 
had received no n^torniation fron; Cols. M' Arthur and 
Cass. An express was immediately sent, strongly 
escorted, with orders for them to return. 

On the 15th, as soon as General Brock received 
my letter, his batteries o[)ened on the town and fort, 
and coi.ttnued until evenmg. In the evening all the 
British Ships of war came nearly as far up the river 
as Sandwich, three miles below Detroit. At day- 
light on the 16th, (at which time 1 had received no 
information from Cols. M'Arlhur and Cass, my ex- 
presses sent the evening before, and m the night, hav- 
ing been prevented from passing by numerous hodies 
of Indians) the cannonade recommenced, and m a 
short time I received intormation, that the British ar- ' 
my and Indians, were landing below the Spring wells, 
under the cover of their Ships of war. At this time 
the whole effective force at my disposal at Detroit did 
not exceed eight hundred men. Being new troops 
and unaccustomed to a camp life; having perform- 
ed a laborious march ; having been in a number of 
battles and skirmishes, m which many had fallen, and 
more had received wounds, in addition to which a 
large number being sick, and unprovided with medi- 
cine, and the comforts necessary for their situation ; 
are the general causes by which the strength of the 
army was thus reduced. The fort at this time was 
filled with women, children, and the old and decrepit 
people of the town and country ; they were unsafe in 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 147 

4he town, as it was entirely open niul exposed to the 
enemy's batteries. Back ot" the tort, above or below 
it, there was no safety for them on account of the In- 
dians. In the tirst instance, the enemy's fire was prin- 
cipally directed against our bnUeries ; towards the 
close, it was directed ng-ainst tlie fort alone, and al- 
most every shot and shell had their effeot. 

It now became necessary either to tijiht the enemy in 
the lield ; collect the whoie force in the fort ; or pro- 
pose terms of capitulation. I could not have r;nried 
into the tield more than six hundred men, asid left any 
aidequate force in the fort. There were landed at 
that time of the enemy a regular force of much more 
than that number, and t.vice that number of Indians. 
Considering this great inequality of force, 1 did not 
think it expedient to adopt tli^ tirst measure. Thf.' 
second must have been attended with a great sacri- 
fice of blood, and no possible advantage, because the 
contest could not have been sustained more than a day 
for the want of powder, and but a very few days for 
the viant of provisions. In addition to this, Cols. 
M' Arthur and Cass would have been in a most haz-* 
ardous situation. I feared nothing but the last altern- 
ative. I have dared to adopt it — I well know the 
high responsibility of the measure, and I take the 
whole of it on myself. It was dictated by a sense of 
duty, and a fud conviction of its expediency. The 
bands of savages which had then joined the British 
force, were numerous beyond any former example. 
Their numbers have since increased, and the history 
of the barbarians of the north of Europe does not 
furnish examples of more greedy violence than these 
savages have exhibited. A large portion of the brave 
and gallant* officers and men I commanded would 
cheerfully have contested until the last cartridge had 
been expended, and the bayonets worn to the sockets. 
1 could not consent to the useless sacrifice of such 
brave men, when I knew it was impossible for me to 
sustain my situation. It was impossible in the nature 
ofrthings that an army could have been furnished with 



148 HISTORY OF THE WAK. 

the necessary supplies of provision, militnry stores, 
clothing, and comforts for the sick, on pack horseSj 
through a wilderaessof two hundred miles, filled with 
hostile savages. It was impossible, sir, that Ihis lit* 
tie army, worn down by fatigue, by sickness, by 
wounds, and deaths, could have supported itself not 
only against the collected force of all the northern 
nations of Indians, but against the united strength of 
Upper Canada, whose population consists of more 
than twenty times the number contained in the terri- 
tory of Michigan, aided by the principal part of the 
regular forces of the province, and the wealth and in- 
fluence of the North-West, and other trading estab- 
lishments among the Indians, which have in their 
employment, and under their entire control, more 
than two thousand white men. 

Before 1 close this dispatch it is a duty I owe my 
respectable associates in command, Cols. M'Arlhur, 
Findley, Cass, and Lieut. Col. Miller, to express my 
obligations to them for the prompt and judicious 
manner in which they have performed their respec- 
tive duties. If aught has taken place during the cam- 
paign which is honorable to the army, these officers 
are entitled to a large share of it. If the last act 
should be disapproved, no part of the censure l>elongs 
to them. I have likewise to express my obligation 
to General Taylor, who has performed the dqty of 
quarter-master-General, for his great exertions in pro- 
curing every thing in his department which it was 
possible to furnish for the covenience of the army ; 
likewise to brigade-major Jessup for the correct and 
punctual manner in which he has discharged his du. 
ty ; and to the army generally for their exertion, and 
the zeal they have manifested for the public interest. 
The death of Dr. Foster, soon after he arrived at 
Detroit, was a seveie misfortune to the army ; it was 
increased by the capture of the Chachaga packet, by 
which the medicine and hospital stores were lost. 
He was commencing the best arrangements in the de- 
partment of which he was the principal, with the very 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 149 

small means which he possessed. I wis likewise 
deprived of the necessary services of C;i|)t. Partridge, 
by sickness, the only officer of the corps of engineers 
attached to the army. All the officers and men have 

fone to their respective homes, excepting* the 4th 
Jnited States' regiment, and a small part of the first, 
and Caj)t. Dyson's company of artdlery. Capt. Dy- 
son's company was left at Amherstburg, and the oth- 
ers are with me prisoners — they amount to about 340. 
I have only to solicit an investigation of my conduct, 
as early as my situation, and the state of things will 
admit; and to add the further request, that the gov- 
ernment will not be unmindful of my associates in 
captivity, and of the families of those brave men who 
have fallen in the contest. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your most 
obedient servant. W. HULL, Brig. Gen. 

//o?i. W. EustiSi Secretary of War. 

[enclosed in the preceding dispatch.] 
Sandwich, 7th August, 1812. 
SIR— On the 4lh inst. Maj. Vanhorn. of (!ol. Fnidley's 
regiment of Ohio volunteers, was detached from this 
army, with the command of 200 men, princnpally rifle- 
men, to proceed to the river Raisin, and further, if ne- 
cessary, to meet and reinforce Cipt. Brush, of the 
state of Ohio, commanding a company of volunteers, 
and escorting provisions for this army. At Browns- 
town a large body of L»dians had formed an ambus- 
cade, and the M ijor's detachment received a heavy 
fire, at the distance of fifty yards fiom the enemy, 
Ttie whole detachment retreated in disorder. Major 
Van Horn made every exertion to form, and prevent 
the retreat, that was possible for a brave and gallant 
.V officer, but without success. By the return of killed 
;. and wounded, it will be perceived that the loss of offi- 
cers was uncommonly great. Tiieir eftbrts to rally 
their companies was the occasion of it. 
I am, very respectfully, yours, &c. 

WnXLWI HULL 
lion. Wm. Euslisj ^r. 



150 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

KILLED, in Major Yjin Horn's defeat — 4 Captains, 
—1 Lieutenant — 2 Ensig-ns — 10 privates. — Total 17. 

[enclosed in the preceding dispatch.] 
Detroit, 13th August. 1812. 
SIR. ^ 

The main body of the army having" re-crossed the 
river at Detroit, on the night and morning of the 8th 
inst; six hundred men were immeirately detached 
under the command of Lieut. CjI. Miller, to open 
the communication to the river Raisin, and protect 
the provisions, which were under the escort of Capt. 
Brush. This detachment consisted of the 4th Unit- 
ed States' regiment, and two small detachments un- 
der the command of Lieut. Stansbury and Ensign Mc 
Labe of the 1st regiment ; detachments from the Ohio 
and Michigan volunteers, a corps of artillerists, with 
one six-pounder and an howitzer under the command 
of Lieut. Eastman, and a part of Captiins Smith and 
Sloan's Cavalry commanded by Captain Sloan of the 
Ohio volunteers. Lieut. Col. Miller marched from 
Detroit on the afternoon of the 8th mstant, and on the 
9th, about four o'clock, P. m. the van guard, com- 
manded by Capt. Snelling of the 4th United States' 
regiment, was hred on by an extensive line of British 
troops and Indians at the lower part of the Maguago 
about fourteen miles from Detroit. At this time the 
main body was marching in two columns, and Capt. 
Snelling miintained his position in a most gallant 
maimer, under a very heavy fire, until the line was 
formed and advanced to the ground he occupied, when 
the whole, excepting the rear guard, was brought into 
action. The enemy were formed behind a tempora- 
ry breast work of logs, the Indians extending in a 
thick wood on their left. Lieat. Colonel Miller or- 
dered his whole line to advance, and v?hen within a 
small distance of the enemy made a general discharge, 
and proceeded with charged bayonets, when the Brit- 
ish line and Lulians commenced a retreat. They 
were pursued in a most vigorous manner about twa 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 151 

ilules, and the pursuit discontinued only on account 
of the fatigue of ihe troops, the approach of eve- 
ning, and the necessity of returning- to take care of the 
wounded. The judicious arrangements made by. 
Lieut. Col. Miller, and the gallant manner in which 
they \^ere executed, justly entitle him to the highest 
honor. From the moment the line commenced the 
tire, it continually moved on, and the enemy main- 
tained their position until forced at the point of the 
bayonet. The Indians on the left commanded by 
Tecumseh, fought with great obstinacy, butwere con- 
tiimally forced and compelled to retreat. The victory- 
Mas complete in every part of the line, and the suc- 
cess would have been more biilliant had the cavalry 
charged the enemy on the retreat, when a most favor- 
able opportunity presented. Although orders were 
given for the purpose, unfortunately they were not 
executed. Majors Van Horn and Morrison, of the 
Ohio volunteers, were associated with Lieut. Colonel 
Miller, as field officers in this command, and were 
highly distinguished by their exertions in forming the 
line, and the firm and inlripid manner they led their 
respective commands to action. 

Captain Baker, of the 1st United States regiment, 
Capt. Brevort of the 2d, and Capt. Hull of the 13th, 
my aid-de-camp, and Lieut. Whistler of the lst,j re- 
quested permission to join the detachment as voldn- 
teers. Lieut. Col. 31iller assigned commands to 
Capt. Baker and Lieut. Whistler; and Capts. Bre- 
vort and Hull at his request, attended his person and 
aided him in the general arrangements. Lieut, Col. 
Miller has mentioned the conduct of tliese oflicers in 
terms of high approbation. In addition to the Cap- 
tains who have been named, Lieut. Col. Miller has 
mentioned Captains Burton and Fuller, of tlie 4th 
reginient. Captains Saunders and Biovvnof the Ohip 
voU\nleers,and Capt. D?landreof the Michigan volun- 
teers, who were attached to his commanii — and dis- 
tinguished by their valor. It is impossible for me, ia 



4*2 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 



this comnmnicfition, to do justice to the officers and 
soldiers, wlio gained the victory winch I have descri- 
bed. They have acquired high honor to themselves 
and are justly entitled to the gratitude of their country. 

Major Muir, of the 41st regiment commanded the 
British in this action. The regulars and volunteers 
consisted of about four hundred, and a large immber 
of Indians. Major Mun- and two subalterns were 
wounded, one of them since dead. About forty In- 
dians were found dead on the tieid, and Tecumseh, 
their leader was slightly wounded. The number of 
wounded Indians Mho escaped has not been ascertain- 
ed. Foarof Major Muir'sdetachmenthave been made 
prisoners, and fifteen of the 41.st regiment killed and 
wounded. The militia and volunteers attached to his 
command were in the severest part of the action, and 
their loss must have been great — it has not yet been 
ascertained. 

I have the honor to be, your most obedient servant, 
WILLIAM HULL, brty. Gen. 

Hon. Wilham Eustis, Secretary of War. 



Return of the killed and wounded in the action fought 
near MaguagOy August Othj 1812. 

4th U. S. regiment — lOnon-corarmissioned officers 
and privates killed, and 45 wounded : Capt. Baker of 
the 1st regiment of infantry; Lieut. Larabee of the 
4th; Lieut. Peters of the 4th ; Ensign Whistler of 
the 17th, doing duty in the 4th ; Lieut. Silly, and an 
Ensign, whose name has not been returned to me 
were wounded. 

In the Ohio and Michigan volunteers, 8 were killed 
rind 12 wonnded. 

W^H.LIAM HULL. 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 153 

GENERAL ORDERS. 

Head-Quarters at Detroit, Aug. 16, 1812. 

It is with piiiii and anxiety that Brigadier General 
Hull announces to the North- Western army, that he 
has been compelled from a sense of duty, to agree to 
the following- articles of capitulation. 

CAPITULATION. 

Camp Detroit, Avg. 16, 1812. 

Capitulation of surrendering fort Detroit, entered 
into between Major-General Brock, commanding his 
Britannic Majesty's forces, of the one part, and Brig. 
General Hull, commanding the North- Western army 
of the United States, of the other part : 

Article 1st. Fort Detroit, with all the troops, reg- 
ulars as well as militia, will be immediately surren- 
dered to the British forces under the command of 
Major-General Brock, and will be considered as 
prisoners of war, with the exception of such of the 
militia of the Michigan territory, who have not join- 
ed the army. 

Article 2d. All public stores, arms, and public 
documents, including every thing else of a public na- 
ture, will be immediately given up. 

Article 3d. Private persons and private property 
of every description will be respected. 

Article 4th. l|is excellency Brig. General Hull, 
having expressed a desire that a detachment from the 
state of Ohio, on its way to join the army, as well as 
one sent from fort Detroit, under the command of 
Col. M'Arthur, should be included in the above stip- 
ulation, it is accordingly agreed to. It is, however, 
to be understood, that such parts of the Ohio militia 
as have not joined the army, will be permitted to re- 
turn home on condition that they will not serve during 
the war — their arms, however, will be delivered np 
if belonging to the public. 
20 



154 HISTORY or THE WAR. 

Article .5th. The g-;irrison will nvarcb out at ihv 
hour of 12 o'clock this day, and the British forces 
will take immediate possession of the fort. 

J. M'DOWEL, Lt. Col. Militia B. A. D. C. 
I. B. GREGG, Major A. D.C. 
CApproved) WILLIAM HULL, Brig. Gen. ^ 
JAMES MILLER, Lt. CoU5th U. S. Infantry. 
£. BRUSH, Col. 1st Reg-. Michioan Militia. 

(Approved) ISAAC BROCK, Maj. Gen. 

The army at 12 o'clock this day will march out of 
the east g-ale, where they will stack their arms, and 
will be tlien svibject to the articles of capitulation, 
WILLIAM HULL, Brijr. Gen. 

Letter from Col. Cass of the army late under the com- 
mand of Brig. Gen. Wm. Hull, to the Secretary 
of fVar. 

Washington, Sept. 10, 1812. 
SIR — Having- been ordered on to this place by 
Col. M' Arthur, for the purpose of communicating- to 
the government particulars respecting the expedition 
lately commanded by Brig. General Hull, and its 
ilisastrous result, as might enable them correctly to 
apprecinte the conduct of the officers and men ; and to 
rlevelope the causes which produced so foul a stain 
upon the national character, I have the honor to sub- 
mit for your consideration, the following statement. 

When the forces landed in Canada, they landed 
with an ardent zeal and stimulated with the hope of 
conquest. JNo enemy appeared within view of us, 
and had an immediate and vigorous attnck been made 
upon Maiden, it would doubtless have fallen an easy 
■victory. . I know General Hull afterwards declared 
he regretted this attack had not been made, and he 
had every reason lo believe success would have crown- 
ed his eftbrts. The reason given for delaying our 
operations was to mount our heavy cannon, and to 
afibrdto the Canadian militia timeaiid opportunity to 
"quit an obnoxious service. In the course of two 
"^veeks the number of their militia, who were embodi- 



HISTORY or THE WAR. ' lOJ 

fed, hud decreased bv desertion from six hundredth 
one Imndred men ; and, in tlie coarse of three weeks,^ 
the cannon were mounted, tfie animnnition fixed, and 
every preparation made for an immediate investment 
oftliefort. At a council, at which were jiresent aH 
tl)e fijeld officers, and winch was held two days before 
our preparations were completed, it was unanimously 
ag^roed to juake an immediate attempt, to accomplish 
the object of the expedition. If by waiting- two days 
We could luive the service of our heavy artillery, it 
was agreed to wait ; if not, it was determined to i^o 
without it, and attempt the place by storm. Tins 
opinion appeared to correspond with the views of the 
General, and the day was appointed for commencing' 
our march. He declared to me, that he considered 
himself pledged to lead the army to Maiden. The 
ammunition was placed in the waggons ; the cannon 
embarked on board the floating batteries, and every re- 
quisite article was prepared. The spirit and zeal, the 
ardor and animation displayed l>y the officers and men, 
on learning the near accomplishment of their wishes, 
was a sure and sacred pledge, that in the hour of trial 
ihey would notbe found wanting in their duty to their 
country and themselves. But a change of meiisures, 
in opposition to the wishes and opinions of all the oflS- 
cers, was adopted by the General. The plan of at- 
tacking Maiden was abandoned, and instead of ac- 
ting offensively, we broke up our camp, evacuated 
Canada, and recrossed the river, in the night, without 
even the shadow of an enemy to injure us. We lell 
to the tender mercy of the enemy the miserable Can- 
adians who had joined us, and ihe protection we af- 
forded them was but a passport to vengeance. This 
fatal and unaccountable step dispirited the troops, and 
destroyed the little confidence which a series of timid, 
irresolute and indecisive measures had left in the com- 
manding officer. 

About the lOlh of Aug-ust, the enemv received a 
reiiitorcement of four hundred men. Oil the tweitth 
the commanding officers of thiee of the regiments. 



1* 



166 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

(Ihe fourth was absent) were informed through anie« 
dium which admitted of no doubt, that the General 
had stated that a capitulation w ould be necessary.* 
They on the same day addressed to Governor Meigs, 
of Ohio, a letter, of which the following is an extract. 

* Believe all the bearer will tell you. Believe it, 

however it may astonish you^ as much as if it had 

been told by one of us. Even a c n, 

is talked of by the The bearer will 

fill the vacancy.^ 

The doub.ful fate of this letter rendered it necessa- 
ry to use circumspection in its details, and therefore 
these blanks were left. The word * capitulation' wili 
fill the first, and * commanding general,' the other. 
As no enemy was near us, and as the superiority of 
our force was manifest, we could see no necessity for 
capitulating, nor any propriety in alluding to it. We 
therefore determined in the last resort to incur the re- 
sponsibility of divesting the General of his command. 
This plan was eventually prevented by two of the 
commanding officers of regiments being ordered upon 
detachments. 

On the 13th the British took a position opposite to 
Detroit, and began to throw uf> works. During that 
and the two following days, they pursued their object ; 
without interruption and established a battery for two 
18 pounders and an 8 inch howitzer. About sun^^et 
on the evening of the 14th a detachment of 350 men 
from the regiments commanded by Col. M' Arthur, 
and myself, was ordered to march to the river Raisin, 
to escort the provisions, which had some time remain- 
ed there protected by a party under the command of 
capt. Brush. 

On Saturday, the 15th about 1 o'clock, a flag of 
truce arrived from Sandwich, bearing a summons 
from General Brock for the surrender of the town and 
fort of Detroit, stating he could no longer restrain the 
fury of the savages. To this an immediate and spir- 
ited refusal was relurned. About four o'clock their 
batteries began to play upon the town. The fire was» 



HISTORY OF THE WAK. Ibl 

returned and continued without interruption and with 
little effect till dark. Their shells were thrown till 
eleven o'clock. 

At day-light the firing on both sides recommenced ; 
about the same time the enemy began to land troop$ 
at the Spring wells, three miles below Detroit, pro- 
tected by two of their armed vessels. Between 6 and 
7 o'clock they had effected their landing, and imme- 
diately took up their line of march. They moved in, 
close column of platoons, twelve in front, upon the 
bank of the river. 

The fourth regiment was stationed in the fort ; the 
Ohio volunteers and a part of the Michigan militia, 
behind some pickets, in a situation in which the whole 
flank of the enemy would have been exposed. The 
residue of the Michigan militia were in the upper par 
of the town to resist the incursions of the savages 
Two 24-pounders, loaded with grape shot, were post-sv, 
ed on a commanding eminence, ready to sweep tha > 
advancing column. In this situation the superiority 
of our position was apparent, and our troops, in the 
eager expectation of victory, awaited the approach of 
the enemy. Not a discontent broke upon the ear ; 
not a look of cowardice met the eye. Every man ex- 
pected a proud day for his co.nnlry, and each was 
anxious that his individuiil exertion should contribute 
to the general result. 

When the head of their column arrived within about 
five hundred yards of our line, orders were received 
from Gen. Hull for the whole to retreat to the fort, 
and for the 24-pounders not to open upon the enem3^i ' 
One universal burst of indignation was apparent upon 
the receipt of this order. Those, whose conviction 
was the deliberate result of a dispassionate examina- 
tionof passing events, saw the folly and impropriety of 
crowding 1100 men iiito a little work, which 300 men. 
could fully man, and into which the shot and shells of* 
the enemy were fallings The fort was in this manner 
filled ; the men were directed to stack their arms, and 
scarcely was an opportunity afforded of moving 



358 HISTORY OF the war. 

Shortly after a white flag was hung out upon the vvallr.. 
A British officer rode up to inquire the cause. A 
communication passed between the commading Gen- 
erals, which ended in the capitulation submitted to 
jou. In entering' into this capitulation, the General 
took counsel from his own feelings only. Not an offi- 
cer was consulted. Not one anticipated a surrender, 
till he saw the white flag- displayed. Even the wo- 
men were indio;naut at so shameful a deg-radation of 
the American character, and all felt as they sliould 
have felt, but he who held in his hands the reins of 
authority. 

Our morning report had that morning made our 
effective men present, fit for duty 1060, without inclu- 
ding the detachment before alluded to, and without 
includinof 300 of the Michigan militia on duty. 

About dark on Saturday evening the detachment 
sent to escort the provisions, received orders from Gen, 
Hull to return with as much expedition as possible. 
About ten o'clock the next day they arrived within 
sight of Detroit. Had a firing been heard, or any re- 
sistance visible, they would have immediately advanc- 
ed and attacked the rear of the enemy. The situa- 
tion in which this detachment was placed, although 
the result of accident, was the best for annoying the 
enemy and cutting ofl" his retreat that could have been 
selected. With his raw troops enclosed between two 
fires and no hopes of succor, it is hazarding little to 
say, that very few would have escaped. 

I have been informed by CdI. Findley, who saw 
the return of their quarter- master-general ihedny after 
the surrender, that their whole force of every descrip- 
tion, white, red, and black, was 1030. They had 
twenty nine platoons, twelve in a platoon, of men dres- 
sed in uniform. Many of these were evidently Can- 
adian militia. Tlie rest of the militia increased their 
while force to about seven hundred men. The num- 
ber of ther Indians could not be ascertained with any 
degree of precision ; not many were visible. And in 
the event of an attack upon the town and foil, it was a 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 150 

species offeree which could have afforded no material 
ad\ anlfio-e to the enemy. 

In endeavoring to appreciate the motives and to in- 
vestigate the causes, which led to an event so unex- 
pected and dishonorable, it is impossible to tind any 
solution inlhe relative strength oflhe contending parlies, 
or in the measures of resistance in our power. Tiiat 
we were far superior to the enemy ; that upon nuy 
ordinary principles of calculation we would have de- 
feated them, the wounded and indignant feelings of 
every man there will testify. 

A few days before the surrender, I was informed 
by Gen. Hull, we had 400 rounds of 24 pound shotfix- 
ed, and about 100,000 cartridges made. We surren- 
dered with the fort, 40 barrels of powder, and 2500 
stand of arms. 

The state of our provision has nol been generally 
understood. On the day of the surrender we had fif- 
teen days' provisions of every kind on hand. Of 
meat there was plenty in the country, and arrange- 
ments had been made for purchasing grain and grind- 
insr it to flour. It was calculated we could readilv 
procure three months' provisions, independent of lOfO 
barrels flour, and 1300 head of cattle, which had been 
forwarded from the slate of Ohio, and which remained 
at the river Raisin, under Capt. Brush, within reach 
of the army. 

But had we been totally destitute of provisions, our 
duty and our interest undoublecUy was to fight. The 
enemy iiwited us to meet him in the field. 

By defeating hiju the whole country would have 
been open to us, and the object ot our expedition 
gloriously and successfully obtained. If we had 
been defeated we had nothing to do but to retreat to 
the fort, and make the best defence which circum- 
stances and our situation rendered practicable. But 
basely to surrender, without firing a gun— tamely to 
submit, without raising a bayonet — disgracefully to 
pass in review before an enemy, as inferior in the 
quality as in the number of his foi-ces, were circum- 



160 fliSTORY OF THE WAll. 

stances, which excitetl feeling's of indignation more 
easily felt than described. To see the whole of our 
men flushed with the hope of victory, eagerly await* 
ing the approaching contest, to see them afterwardis 
dispirited, hopeless and desponding, at least 500 shed- 
ding tears, because they were not allowed to meet 
their country's loe, and to fight their country's battles, 
excited sensations, which no American has ever be- 
fore had cause to feel, and which, 1 trust in God, will 
never again be felt, while one man remains to defend 
the standard of the Union. 

I am expressly authorised to stale, that Colonel 
M'Arthur, and Col. Fuidley, and Lieut. Col. Miller, 
viewed this transaction in the light which I do. They 
know and feel, that no circumstance in our situation, 
none in that of the enemy, can excuse a capitulation so 
dishonorable and unjustifiable. This too, is the uni- 
versal sentiment among the troops ; and I shall be 
surprised to learn, that there is one man, who thinks it 
was necessary to sheath his sword, or lay down his 
TttiuskeL 

I was informed by Gen. Hull the morning after 
the capitulation, that the British forces consisted of 
of 1800 regulars, and that he surrendered to prevent 
the effusion of human blood. That he magnified 
their regular force nearly five-fold, there can be no 
doubt. Whether the philanthropic reason assigned 
by him is a sufficient justification for surrendering a 
fortified town, an army and a territory, is for the 
government to determine. Confident I am, that had 
the courage and conduct of the General been equal 
to the spirit and zeal of the troops, the event would 
have been as brilliant and successful as it now is dis- 
astrous and dishonorable. 

Very respectfully sir, I have the honor to be your 
Bnost obedient servant, 

LEWIS CASS, 
Col. 3(1 Regt. Ohio \ oluntecrs. 

Thf TJov. WiUiom Evstis., Secretary of War, 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 161 

[By the following Proclamation, it appears that Gen. 
Hull surrendered the whole of Michigan Territory, 
to Gen. Brock, although he has never made public 
any instrument to that effect !] 

';, PROCLAMATION. 

JStf Isaac Br ocliy Esq. Mnjor-Geueral., commanding 
his majesty s forces in the province of Upper Canada. 
Whereas the Territory of Michigan was this day 
\jy capitulation, ceded to the arms of his Britannic 
JVIajesty, without any otiier condition than the protecr- 
tion of private property ; and wishing to give an early 
proof of the moileration and justice of the govern>- 
mcnt, 1 do hereby announce to all the inhabitants of 
the said Territory that the laws heretofore in existencye 
>hall continue in force until his Majesty's pleasure be 
known, or so long as the peace and safety of the Ter- 
ritory wiU admit thereof. And I do hereby also de- 
clare and make known to the said inhabitants that 
they shall be protected in the fidl exercise and enjoy- 
ment of their religion ; of which all persons, both civil 
and military, will take notice and govern themselves 
accordingly. 

All persons having in their possession, or having 
any knowledge of any public property, shall forthwith 
deliver in the same, or give notice thereof to the offi- 
cer commanding, or Lt. Col. Nichol, who are hereby 
authorized to receive and give proper receipts for the 
same. 

Officers of the militia will be held responsible that 
all arms in possession of militia-men be immediately 
delivered up ; and all individuals whatever, who btive 
in their possession arms of any kind, will deliver them 
up without delay. Given under my hand at Detroit, 
thislGth day of August, 1812, and in the 52d year of 
his Majesty's reign. 

(Signed) ISAAC BROCK, 

A true copy, ^ Mnjor-General, 

J. M'DONELL, Lt. Col. Militia & A. D. C, 
21 



162 MISXJivY OF THE WAR. 

A CARD. 

Colonel Synimes, of the senior division of the Ohio 
militia, presents his respectful compliments to Major* 
General Brock, commanding his Britannic majesty 'f* 
forces, white and red, in Upper Canada. ^ 

Colonel ISymmes, observing, that by the 4th article"^ 
of liie capitulation of Fort Detroit to INIajor-general 
Brock, all public arms moving towards Fort Detroit, 
are to be delivered up, but as no place of deposit is ' 
pointed out by the ca|)itulation, ybr/^y thousand stand 
of arms coming within the description, are at the ser- 
vice of Major-general Brock, if his excellency will 
Goi\i\e%c,e[i\\ to come and take tham. 

Copies of letters received at the navg department from ''^ 

Capt, Porter y of the United States frigate Essext of 

32 giins. 

At Sea, AugvstM, 1812. 
SIR — I have the honor to inform you that on the 13th 
his Britannic Majesty' ssloop of war Alert, Captain T. 
P. Laugharne, ran down on our weather quarler, gave 
three cheers, and commenced an action (if so trifling 
a skirmish deserves the name and after 8 minutes fir- 
ing struck her colors, with 7 feet water in her hold, and " 
much cut to pieces, and three men wounded. 

T need not inform you that the officers and crew of 
the Esse,x behaved as I trust all Americans will in 
such cases, and it is only to be regretted that so nmch 
zea! and activity could not have been displayed on an 
occasion which would have done them more honor. 
The Essex has not received the slightest injury. 

The Alert was out for the purpose of taking the 
Hornet ! 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your 
obedient servant, 

Signed DAVID PORTER; 

Hon. Puul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 



m 



ftlK-l^.namg myself much embarrassed l)v h. 

event of an elloaa•P,npn^ • i ^ ? "^ *"'P '» 

ly as poss,bl., parlicularlfas I wa* eu" "' ''"r.'"" 
immediately on their Mriv7\ in IT T ""■*'' "'•'' 

Alert overboard; will.drew from her aM the L 
to.a"f t^^^''' «PPO'"ted heut.J.P. VV.Ime,. 

ceivemexcliancre ^'"eucans a. he may re- 

ihetiriaf;:etJre;re':pt^j,t'' "" -^-'^ 

lative to tb,s transaction! and ,i .cerelv h^7 TT"^ 
conduct n. th. affair may m'er,^,:";r;;":^p2 

Not %^c!rat ^N^^LSj^t^^rrf 1i 

can do shall be done, and «vhl,e er m Tbe om f^ 
our counlrymeu shall never blush Co. us ' 

i have the honor to be, lac. 

oj thi N,imj, Wathinglon. \ 



|<J4 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

DEFENCE OF FORT HARRISON. 
Letter from tapt. Z Taylor, commandimjjort Hai^ 
riion, Indiana Territory, to Gen. ^^^rr''^'^' -^ 
Fort Harrison, feept. lo, iwi.?. ^.t 
Dear Sir— On Thursday evening, the 3d inst after 
retreat beating, four guns were heard to fire in the di- 
rection where two young men (citizens who resided 
liere) were making hay, about 400 yards distant from 
the fort. 1 was immediately impressed with an idea 
that they were killed by the Indians, as 1 had that day 
been informed that the Prophet's party would soon be 
here for the purpose of commencing hostilities. Pru- 
dence induced me to wait until 8 o'clock the nex 
morninff, when I sent out a corporal with a small 
party to find them, which he soon did ; they had been 
each shot with two balls, and scalped and cut in the 
most shocking manner. I had them brought m and 
buried. In the evening of the 4th inst. old Joseph 
Lenar, and between 30 and 40 Indians arrived trom 
the Prophet's town, with a white flag ; among whom 
' Avere about ten women : the men were composed 
of chieis of the d.fierent tribes that compose the 
Prophet's party. A Shawanoe man, that spoke good 
Enolish, informed me that old Lenar intended to 
speak to me next morning, and try to get something 
to eat. At retreat beating, 1 examined the men s 
arms and found them all m good order, and com- 
pleted their cartriges to 10 rounds per man. As 1 had 
Tiot been able to mount a guard of more than six pri- 
vates and two non-commissioned officers, tor some 
time past, and sometimes part of them every other 
day, from the unhealthiness of the company ; 1 had 
not conceived my force adequate for the defence at 
this post, should It be vigorously attacked. 1 had just 
recovered from a very severe attack of the fever, and 
was not able to be up much through the night. Alter 
tattco I cautioned the guard to be vigilant, and or- 
dered one of the non-commissioned officers, as centi- 
nels could not see every part of the garrison, to walk 
around on the inside during the whole night, to pr^- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 165 

vent the Indians takin- any aavantage of us, Foyid-. 
ed they had anv intention ot attacking us. About U 
o'clock,! was liwakem a by the hnng of one ot the 
centiuels ; 1 sprang uj,, rui. out, and ordered the men 
to then- posts! when my oraerly sergeant (who had 
chai-ffeof the upper block house) called o«t th^t the 
Indians had tired the lower block house (which con- 
tained the property of the contractor, which was de- 
posited in Ihe lower part, the upper part having been 
assingnedto a corporal and ten privates, as an alarm 
post ) The guns had begun to hre pretty smartly 
Lm both sides. I dnecled the buckets to be got 
ready and water brouaht from the well, and the hre 
extinguished immediately, as it was hardly perceiv. 
able at that time; but from debility or some other 
cause, the men were very slow in executing my or. 
acrs-theword^Ve appeared to throw the whole of 
them into confusion ; and by the time they had got 
the water, and broken open the door, the hre had un- 
fortunately communicated to a quantity ot whisky (the 
slock havmg licked several holes through the lower 
part of the building, after the salt that was stored 
there, through which they had introduced the fire with- 
out being discovered, as the night was very dark,) 
and in spite of every exertion we could make use ot, 
in less than a moment it ascended to the root, and baU 
fled all our cftbrts to extinguish it. As that blocKi- 
house adjoined the barracks that make part ot the tor- 
tifications, most of the men immediately g^e them- 
V selves up for lost, and I had the greatest difficulty in 
t {retting any of my orders executed--and, sir, what 
T' Irom the raging of the tire-the yelling and howling 
of several hundred Indians— the cries ot nine women 
and children (a part soldiers' and apart citizens 
wives, who had taken shelter in the fort)-and the 
desponding of so many of the men, which was worse 
than all, I can assure you that my teelings were very 
unpleasant ; and indeed there were not more than 10 
or 15 men able to do a great deal, the others beit^g 
either sick or convalescent— and to add to our other 



16^ HISTORY OF THE WAR. • 

misfortunes, two of the stoutest men in the fort, and 
that 1 had every confidence in, jumped the picket and 
left us. But my presence of mind did not for a mo- 
ment forsake me. I saw, by throwing off part of the ' 
roof that joined the block-house that was on fire, and 
keeping- the end perfectly wet, the whole row of build- 
ings might be saved, and leave only an entran<te of 
18 or 20 feet for the Indians to enter after the house 
was consumed ; and that a temporary breast-work 
might be erected to prevent their even entering tiiere. 
I convinced the men that this could be accomplished, 
and it appeared to inspire them with new life, and 
never did men act with more firmness and despera- 
tion. Those that were able (while the others kept 
up a constant fire from the other block-house and the 
two bastions,) mounted the roofs of the houses with 
Dr. Clark at their head, who acted with the greatest 
firmness and presence of mind, the whole time the 
attack lasted, which was 7 hours, under a shower of 
bullets, and in a moment threw off as much of the roof 
as was necessary. This was done only with the loss 
of one man, and two wounded, and I am in hopes ■ 
neither of them dangerous. — The man that was killed 
was a litlle deranged, and did not get off the house 
as soon as directed, or he would not have been hurt ; 
and although the barracks were several times in a 
blaze, and an immense quantity of fire against them, 
the men used such exertions that they kept it under, 
and before day raised a temporary breast-work as 
high as a man's head ; although the Indians continu- 
ed to pour in a heavy fire of ball and an innumera- 
ble quantity of arrows, during the whole time the at- 
tack lasted, I had but one ott>er man killed inside the 
fort, and he lost his life by being too anxious — he got 
into one of the gallies of the bastions, and fired over 
the pickets, and called out to his comrades that he had 
killed an Indian, and neglecting to stoop down, in an 
instant he was shot dead. One of the men that junip-i. 
ed the pickets, relumed an hour before day, and run* 
T)ing up towards the gate, begged for God's sake for 



illSTOnY OF THE WAR. 167 

ilto be opened. I suspected it to be a stratagem of 
the Indians to get m, as I did not recollect the voice 
—I directed the men in the bastion, where I hapi>en- 
ed to be, to shoot him lethim be who lie would and one 
ot them fired at him but fortunately he run up to the 
other bastion, wliere they knew his voice, and Dr 
Clark directed hirn to lie down close to the pickets be* 
land an empty biirrel that happened to be there, and 
at day li-ht I had him let in. His arm was broken in 
a most shockiniT manner, which he says was done bv 
the Indians— which 1 suppose wastheVause of his re- 
Ujrning-.I think it probable that he will not recover 
ihe other, they cauoht about 120 yards from the 
garrison, and cut him all to pieces. After keepino- 
up a constant fire m.til about six o'clock the next 
morning, which we returned with some effect- alter 
day-l.ght, they removed out of the rtach of our Vans 
A party ot them drove up the horses that beloTio-ed 
to the citizens here, aud as thev could not catch tirem 
very readily, shot the whole of' them in our siirht as 
well as a number of their hogs. They drove off \he 
whole ot the cattle, which amounted to sixtv-five 
head, as well as the public oxen. 1 had the vaaancv 
nl.ed up be ore night, (which was made by the burn- 
ing of the block house) with a strong row of pickets 
which I got by pulling down the guard house. We 
ost the whole of our provisions, but must make out 
to hve upon green corn until we can get a supply 
M hich I am in hopes will not be long. 1 believe the 
vvhole of the IVl.amies or Weas, wer? among the Pro- 
phet s party, as one chief gave his orders in that lan- 
guage, which resembled Stone Eater's voice, and I 
believe ^egro Legs was there likewise. The In- 
dians suflered smartly, but were so numerous as to take 
ott all that were shot. 

(Signed) z TAYLOR. 

Ills t^xctllency Governor Hurrison. 



168 HISTORY Ol? THE WAK 

Com of a letter from Major ThomasJ. Jessup ««^ 
^7al Tayto/, Q. M. Oen N. W An,.,, to_a 
aentUmanin WaMnffion (My, dated 
J* Chilitotliey (Ohio) Oct. i. 

SlR_Yom- leller has been received. req.iestu,g 
from us a corwboralion of Ccl.Casss fen.ent o 
the Secretary of War, of the surrender of the nortlv- 
wesufrarmv. We have read the colonel's stateme«t 
»Uh "llention, and find it a pretty correct h.story of 
: 'suSn. 'although .e »>-- observed .hat som« 
important facts have been on""^'^'- behave a so 
Slnd examined the official report of Gen. Hull, nd 
bavefound ,1 abounding with inaccurac.es and m st-.^e- 
Tents • the ffeneral has not only undcireled his o«n 
force bnt hat, in our opinion, magnified mfim.clv that 
of*; enemy, and enumerated dangers and d.fhc«l. 
lies that existed only ii> unas;matio;i. 

T at the means wUhin our power were "o P™pu- 
Iv^nnlied is a melancholy fact; and that the aimv 
ls'uWcess..'ily sacrificed, and the An-ncan arms 
disgn>ced, none -but .he base and cowardly wdlat- 

''•f ou mt;:^lhonsed to mnkewhat use you may think 

Q. M. Oen. JS. W. Aunt/. 
^kirmishivn--C^vi. Williams, on the 30lh of An- 

r'' St Ma y"t 'S olm-: nveir was uLcked by 
trom St. Ma J s to ai „ ho killed one man 

an •'"'''"«'f^!"Sl'"2,re ncludmo- Cap.. Williams. 

:i:ire;vtds::cnr.::;s'rti-un.ou';i.on^ 

WHO rectiveii sc pffpcted a retreat about 200 

and tour "' ""^'fS-T^Vem^, stand, and fought 

hawks, which this little band soon put a slop to, by, 



HISTORY 05" THE WAK. 16^ 

Aargin^ bayonet and rushing on them. TV.e In- 
dians destroyed one waggon and took the other to 
carry off their killed and wounded. Capt. Williams 
then proceeded to St. John's with his well and wound- 
ed, excepting one man, who was not able to travel. 
The next day a party of Indians returned to the spot; 
when the wour»ded man rose up as well as he could, 
and called upon his parly to rush upon the Indians, 
which startled them in such a manner that one of 
them sprung from his horse, which, the wounded, 
man caught^ and arrived safe at Si. John's. 

(/apt. Forsyth, with 70 of his rifle company, and 34 
militia'volunteers, on the night of the 20th September, 
1812, went over to a small village called Gananoque, 
in the town of Leeds, from C ipe Vincent, for the 
purpose of destroying the kuig's -store house at that 
place. They landed unobserved, but were soon dis- 
covered by a party of regulars of about 125, and fired 
Upon. — Capt. Forsyth returned the fire with such 
spirit, that they were obliged to retreat to the village^ 
where they were reinforced by a number of militia, 
when they agam rallied, but finding the contest too 
sanguine, retreated the second time in disorder, leav- 
ing 10 killed, and 8 regulars and a number of militia, 
prisoners : Capt. Forsyth had otily one man killed 
and on© slightly wounded. After destroying the 
store house, with a quantity of flour and pork, our 
little band of heroes, returned to Cape Vincent, tak- 
ing with them the prisoners, 00 stand of arms, two 
* barrels of fixed ammunition, one barrel of powder, 
» one barrel of flints, and a quantity of other public 
•>( property taken from the store-house. 

On the 4th of October, about forty British boats, 
escorted by two gun boats, attempted to pass from 
Johnstown to Prescott, by Ogdensburg. — On their 
leaving Johnstown, the batteries at Prescott opened on 
Ogdensburg* and kept up a brisk fire, which was re- 
22 



170 HISTOKY OP THE AVAR. 

iurnedin a spirited manner, and continued UvoliourS' 
The next morning- the enemy commenced a lieavy 
cannonade on us trom Prescott, where tlie boals hiy, 
Avliich was continued wilh little i n term issi on,- through 
the day without any return from us; General Urown 
considering it useless to fire such a dislance. The 
enemy was very busy during the day iii preparing for 
an attack on Ogdensburg — -the next morning about 
10 o'clock, 25 boats, aided by 2 gun boats moved up 
the river three quarters of a mile, when they tacked 
and stood over for our shore. As soon as the boats 
changed their course, the batteries from PresColt 
opened their fire upon us, which w as not answered 
till the boats had advanced to about the middle of the 
river, when our batteries commenced a tremendous 
lire upon them, which destroyed three, and caused 
the remainder to seek shelter under the batteries of 
Prescott. Cols. Lethridge and Breckenridge, led 
the British. There was not one man either killed 
or wounded on our side, whilst the enemy lost twelve 
killed and 20 wounded. 

Affair at St. Reyis. — Major Young, of the Troy, 
N. Y. militia, stationed at French IMills, on the St. 
Regis river, having received intelligence that a parly 
of the enemy had arrived at, and taken possession of 
St. Regis village, marched a detachment, on the 
night of the 21st October, w hich crossed the river about 
3 o'clock, and arrived within half a mile of the village 
by 5 in the morning, unobserved by the enemy. Hert 
the Major made such a judicious disposition of his 
force, that the enemy were entirely surrounded, when 
a few discharges upon them caused them to surrender, 
after having 5 killed, and. several wounded. — The 
result of this afllair, was 40 prisoners, with their arms, 
equipments, &:c. one stand of colors, and two bat- 
teaux, without having one man hurt, on our side. 

Major Young had the honor of taking the first stan- 
dard tiom the cueuty in the present war. 



HISTORY OF THE Vv AR. 171 

Letter from Captain Elliot to the Secretary of 
the Navy. 
Black Rock, Oct. 0, 1812. 

SIR — I have ihe honor to inf'onn you that on the 
morning- of ihe 8th inst. two British vessels, \Vhicii I 
was informed were his Britannic Mnjesly's brig' De- 
troit, late the United States bri^ Adams, and the 
hrij^- Hunter, niountinsj' 14 g-uns, but which afterwards 
proved to be the brig Caledonia, both said to be well 
armed and manned, came down the Lake and anchor- 
ed under the protection oV Fort Erie. Having- been 
on the lines for some time and in[a measure inactively 
employed, I determined to make an attack, and if 
possible to get possession of them. A strong induce- 
ment to this attempt arose from a conviction that with 
these two vessels added to those which I have purchas- 
ed and am fitting out, 1 should be able to meet the re- 
mainder of the British force on the Upper Lakes, and 
save an incalculable expense and labor to the govern- 
ment. On the morning- of their arrival I heartl that 
our seamen were but a short distance from this place, 
and immediately dispatched an Express to the officers, 
directing them to use all possible <lispatch in getting- 
their men to this place, as 1 had important service to 
perform. On their arrival, which was abouut 12 
o'clock, I discovered tint they had onlv 20 pistols 
and neither cutlasses nor battle axes. But on appli- 
cation to Generals Smith and Hall of the regulars and 
militia, I was supplied with a few arms, and Gen. 
Smith was so good on my request as innne<ltatelv to de- 
tach fifty men from the regulars, armed with mus- 
kets. , 

By 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I had my men select- 
ed and stationed in two boats, which I had previous- 
ly prepared for the purpose. With these boats, 50 
meft in each, and under circumstances very disadvan- 
tageous, my men having scarely had time to refresh 
themselves after afatigueing march of oOO miles, I put 
off from the mouth of Buflfalo creek, at 1 o'c'ock the 
allowing morning, and at 3 I was along side the ves« 



179 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

sels. In the space of about ten minutes I had the pvis- 
oners all secured,\he topsails sheeted home, and Ihf 
Tessels under way. Unfortunately the wind was not 
sufficiently strong to 8:et me up against a rapid current 
into the Lake, where I had understood another armed 
vessel lay at anchor, and I was obliged to run 
down the river by the Forts, under a heavy fire of 
round, grape, and cannister, from a number of pieces 
of heavy ordnance, and several pieces of flving 
artillery, and compelled to anchor at a distance oi 
about 400 yards from two of their batteries. After 
the discharge of the first gun, which was from the fif- 
ing artillery, I hailed the shore, and observed to the 
officer, that if another gun was fired I vi ould bring 
the prisoners on deck, and expose them to the same 
fate we would all share — but notwithstanding, they 
disregarded the caution and continued a constant and 
destructive fire. One single moment's reflection de- 
termined me not to commit an act that would subject 
me to the imputation of barl)arity. The Caledonia 
bid been beached, in as safe a position as the circum- 
stances would admit of, under one of our batteries at 
the Black Rock. 1 now brought all the guns of the 
Detroit on one side next the enemy, stationed the 
men at them, and directed a fire which was continued 
as long as our ammunition lasted and circumstances 
permitted. During the contest I endeavored to get 
the Detroit on our side by sending a line, there being 
no wind, on shore, with all the line I could muster ; 
but the current being so strong, the boat could not 
reach the shore. I then hailed our shore, and re- 
quested that warps should be made fast on land, and 
sent on board, the attempt to all which again prov- 
ed useless. As the tire was such as would, in all 
probability, sink the vessel in a short time, I determin- 
ed to drift down the river out of the reach of the bat* 
teries, and make a stand against the flying artillery. 
I accordingly cut the cable, made sail with very light 
airs, and at that instant discovered that the pilot had 
abandoned me, I dropped astern for about 10 mi- 
nutes, when 1 was brought up on om* shore on Squaw 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 17S 

Island — got the boarding boat ready, had the prison- 
ers put in and sent on shore, with 'directions for the 
officer to return for me and what property we could 
get from the brig. He did not return, owing to the 
difficulty in the boat's getting on shore. Discover- 
ing a skifF under the counter. I put the four remain- 
ing prisonei-s in the boat, and with my officers I went 
on shore to bring the boat off. I asked for protec- 
tion to the brig of Lieut. Col. f^cott who readily gave 
it. At this moment I discovered a boat with about 
40 soldiers from the British side, making for the brig. 
They got on board, but were soon compelled to aban- 
don her, with the loss of nearly all their men. Ma- 
jor Ormsbee, Commandant of Fort Erie and 30 
privates were killed, while on board. During the 
whole of this morning both sides of the river kept 
up alternattely a continual fire on the brig, and so 
much injured her that it was impossible to have floiiti- 
ed her. Before I left her, she had several shot of 
large size in her bends, her sails in ribbons, and rig- 
ging all cut to pieces. 

To my officers and men I feel under great obliga- 
tion. ToCapt. Towson and Lieut. Roach of the 2d 
regiment of artillery. Ensign Prestman of the infantry. 
Captain Chapin, Mr. John M'Comb, Messrs. John 
Town, Thomas Dain, Peter Overstocks, and James 
Sloan, resident gentlemen of Butfalo, for their soldier 
and sailor like conduct. la a word, sir, every man 
fought as if with their hearts animated only by the in* 
terest and honor of their country. 

The prisoners I have turned over to the military. 
The Detroit mounted fourteen long guns, a com- 
manding Lieut, marines, a boatswain and gunner, 
and 56 men — about 30 American prisoners on board, 
muskets, pistols, cutlasses, and battle axes. In boar- 
ding her I lost one man, one officer wounded, Mr. 
John C. Cummings, acting midshipman, a bayonet 
through the leg — his conduct was correct, and de- 
serves the notice of the Department. The Caledonia 
mounted two small guns, blunderbusses, pistols, mus- 
kets, cutlasses, and boarding pikes, 12 men including 



174 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

officers, 10 prisoners on board. The boat boarding 
her was commanded by sailing- master Geo. Watts, 
who performed his duty in a masterly style. But 
one man killed, and four wounded badly, I am afraid 
mortally. I enclose you a list of the officers and men 
engaged in the enterprise, and also a view of the 
Lake and river in the dift'erent situations of attack. 
Ill a day or two I shall forward the names of the pri- 
soners. The Caledonia belongs to the N. W. Com- 
pany, loaded with furs worth I understood S200,000<, 

With sentiments of respect, I have the honor to 
be, &c. 

JESSE D. ELLIOT. 

Hon. Paul Hamilton^ Secretary of the Navy. 

Extract of a letter from Capt. Heald, late cammand" 
ant at fort Chicago, dated at Piltsbnryj Oct. 23, 
1812. 

' On the 9th of August last, I received orders from 
General Hull to evacuate the post and proceed with 
my command to Detroit by land, leaving it at my dis- 
cretion to dispose of the public property as 1 thought 
proper. The neighboring Indians got the informa- 
tion as early as I did, and came in from all quarters in 
order to receive the goods in the factory store which 
they understood were to be given them. On the loth 
Capt. Wells, of Fort Wayne, arrived with about SO 
Miamies, for the purpose of escorting us in, by the re- 
quest of General Hull. On the 14lh I delivered tho 
Indians all the goods in the factory store and a consid- 
erable quantity of provisions which we could not take 
away with us. The surplus, and ammunition I ' 
thought proper to destroy, fearing they would make 
bad use of it if put in their possession. I also de- 
stroyed all the liquor on hand soon after they began to 
collect. The collection was unusully large for that 
place, but they conducted with the strictest propriety 
till after I left the fort. On the 15lh at 9 in the morn- 
ing, we commenced our march ; a part of the Miam- 
ies were detached in front and the remainder in our. 
rear, as guards, under the directioij of Capl. Wells, 



UISTORY OP THE WAR. 1/5 

The siluation of the country rendered it necessary fop 
us to lake llie beach, with the lake on our left, and a 
high sand bank on ourrig^ht, at about 100 yards dis- 
tance. We had proceeded about a mile and an half, 
when it was discovered that the Indians were prepar- 
ed to attack us from behind the bank. 1 immediate- 
ly marched U|) with the company to the top of the 
bank, when the action commenced ; after tiring one 
round, we charged, and the Indians gave way in front 
and joined those on our tlanks. In about 15 minutes 
they got posession of all our horses, provisions, and 
bag-gage of every description,and finding the Miamies 
did not assist us, I drew off the few men Iliad left 
and took prosession of a small elevation in the open 
prairie out of shot of the bank or any other cover. 
The Indians did not follow me, but assembled in a body 
on the top of the bank, and, after some consnllation 
among themselves, made signs for me to approach 
tham. I advanced towards them alone and was met by 
one of the Potawattamie chiefs called the Black Bird, 
with an interpreter. After shaking hands, he request- 
ed me to surrender, promising to spare the lives of 
all the prisoners. On a few moments consideration, 
I concluded it would be most prudent to comply with 
his request, although I did not put entire confidence 
in his promise. After delivering up our arms, we 
wei'e taken back to their encampment near the fort, 
and distributed among the different tribes. The next 
morning they set fire to the fort and left the place, tak- 
ing the prisoners with them. Their number of war- 
riors was between four and five hundred, mostly of 
the Potawattamie nation, and their loss, from the best 
information I could get, was about 15. Our strength 
was 54 regulars and 12 militia, out of which 26 regu- 
lars and all the militia were killed in the action, with 
two women and twelve children. Ensign Georo-e 
Ronan, and Dr. Isaac Y. Van Yoorhis of my compa- 
ny, with Capt. Wells of Fort Wayne, are to my great 
sorrow, numbered among the dead. Lieut. Lina T. 
Helm, with 25 non-commissioned officers and \m- 



17$ HISTORY OF THE WAlt. 

vates and 11 women and children, were prisoucnj 
■when we Were separated. Mrs. Heald and myself 
were taken to the mouth ot the river St. Joseph, and/ 
being bv»th badly woundi d, were permitted to reside 
with Mr. Burnet, an Indian trader. In a few days 
after our arrival there, the Indians all went off to take 
Fort Wayne, and in their absence I eng-ao^ed a French- 
man to take us to Michilimackinac bv water, where I 
gave myselt up as a prisoner of war, with one of my 
sergeants. The commanding- officer, Capt. Roberts, 
offered me every assistance in his power to render 
our situation comfortable while we remained there, 
and to enable us to proceed on our journey. To him 
I gave my parole of honor and came on to Detroit and 
reported myself to Col. Proctor, who gave us a passage 
to Buffalo ; from that place 1 came by the way of 
Presque Isle and arrived here yesterday.* 



€opi/ of a letter from 3Ir. S. T. Anderson, enclosing 

one from Commodore CImuncey to the Secretary of 

the Navy. 

Sacket's Harbor, 18th Nov. 1812.--at night. 

SIR — Since the enclosed letter from the Commo- 
dore was written, the Growler has returned with a 
prize, and in her Captain Brock, brother to the late 
General of that name, with the baggage of the latter. 
By the prize we learned that the Earl Moira was off 
the False Ducks, and the Commodore h;is put off in 
a snow storm in the hope of cutting her oft' from 
Kingston. 

From information received from Capt. Brock, there 
is no question but that Kingston is very strongly de- 
fended. He expressed surprise to find our vessels 
had got out of the harbor after having been in it ; and 
says that the regiment to which he belongs is quar- 
tered there, 500 strong, besides other regulars, and a 
well appointed militia. The resistance made fully 
justifies this report. Be assured, sir, that in the ac- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 177 

ticyn of which the Commodore has given yon an ac- 
count, the national honor has been most ably sup- 
ported. 

In great haste, your most obedient servant, 

SAMUEL T. ANDERSON. 

Hon, Paul HamiltoHf ISecntary of the iSavy. 

Sacket's Harbor, imh Nov. 1812. 

SIR— I arrived here last evening- in a gale of vvindj 
the pilots having refused to keep Ihe Lake. On the 
€th I fell in with the Royal Georg-e, and chased her 
into the bay of Q,uanti, where I lost sight of her in the 
night. On the morninp;' of the 9lh, we again got 
.si;»lrt of her lying in Kingstoii channel. We gav<^ 
chase, and followed her into the harbor of Kingston, 
where we engaged her aiul the batteries for one hour 
and 45 minules. I had made up my nnnd to board 
her, but she was so well protected by the batteries, 
and the wind blowing directly in, it w as deemed im^ 
prudent to make the attempt at that tmie ; the pilots 
also refused to take charge of the vessel. Under 
these circumstances, and it being after sun-down, I 
determined to haul off and renew the attack next 
morning. We beat up in good order under a heavy 
fire from the Royal George and batteries, to 4 mile 
point, where we anchored. It blew heavy in squalls 
from the westward during the night, and there was 
every appearance of a gale of wind. The pilots be-* 
came alarmed and I thought it most prudent to get 
into a place of more safety. I therefore (very reluct-* 
antly) deferi-ed renewing the attack upon the ships 
and forts until a more favorable opportunity. 

In our passage through the bay of Q,uanti, I dis- 
covered a shooner at the village of Armingstown, 
which we took possession of, but finding she would 
detain us (being then in chase of the Royal George) 
I ordered Lieut. Macpherson to take out her sails and 
rigging and burn her, which he did. We also loofc 
the schooner Mary, Hall, from Niagara, at the mouth 
of Kingston harbor, and took her with us to our an- 
23 



'17S HISTORY OF TliU WAU". 

•chorage. The next nioniing-, finding that she could 
not heat through the channel with uk, I ordered the 
sailing master of the Growler to take her under conr 
voy and run down past Kingston, anchor on the east 
end of Long Island, and wait for a wind to come 
up on the east side. I was also in Jiopes that the 
Royal George might be induced to follow for the 
purpose of retaking our prize, but her commander was 
too well aware of the consequences to leave his moor- 
ings. ' 
; We lost in this affair one man killed, and three 
slightly wounded, with a few shot in our sails. The 
other vessels lost no men and received but little injury 
in Iheir hulls and sails, with theexception of thePeit, 
whose gun bursled in the early part of the action, and 
^vounded her commander (sailing master Arundel) 
badly, and a midshipman and three men slightly. 
Mr. Arundel, Avho refused to quit the deck although 
wounded, was knocked overboard in beating up to 
our anchorage, and I am sorry say, was drowned. ; 

The Royal George must have received very con- 
siderable injury in her hull and in men, as the gun 
vessels with a long 32 pounder were seen to strike her 
almost every shot, and it was observed that she was 
reinforced with troops four different times during ihe 
action. . . .\vVi,i» 

It was thought by all the officers in the squadron 
that the enemy had more than thirty guns mounted at 
Kingston, and from 1000 to 1,300 men. The Royal 
George protected by this force was driven into the in-i 
ner harbor, under the protection of the musketry, by 
the Oneida, and four small schooners fitted out aS^ 
gun boats ; the Governor Tompkins not having been 
uble to join in the action until about sun-down, owin^ 
to the lightness of the winds, and the Pert's gun hav^' 
iug burst the second or third shot. | 

1 have the honor to be, very respectfully, sir, your 
obedient servant, 

ISAAC CHAUNCEY- 

Hon. Paid HaniHton, {Secretary oj iht Navy. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 1*0 

Copy of a letter from Maj. Gen. Van Rens^'ielaeri of the 

» New-York militia, to Maj. Gen. Henry Dearborn y 
transmitted by the latter to ihe department of war. 

Head- Quarter Sy Lewifilon, 
October 14, 1812. ; 
^ SIR — As the movements of the army under my 
coinmiind, since I had the honor to address you on the 
8th inst. have been of a very important character pro- 
ducing consequences serious to many individuals ; 
estiiblishing facts actually connected w ith the interest 
of the service and safety of the army ; and as I stand 
promijiently responsible for some of these consequen- 
ces, I beg leave to explain to you, sir, and through 
you to my country, the situation and circumstances 
in which I have had to {>ct, and the reasons and mo- 
tives which governed me ; and if the result is uvt all 
iJiat might have been wished, it is such, that when the 
whole ground shall be viewed, I shall cheerfully sub- 
mit to the judgment of my country. 

. In my letter of the 8lh inst. I apprized you that a 
orisisin this campaign was rapidly advancing ; and 
that (to repeat the same Mords) ' the blow muat be soon 
Hrucky or all the toU and e^rpence of the campaign yo 
for nothing ; and worse than nothiny, for the whole- 
will be tinyed with dishonor.' 

- Under such impressions, I had on the 5th inst. 
written to brigadier-General Smyth, of the United 
States' forces requesting an interview with him, Ma- 
jor-General Hall, and the commandants of the United 
States' regiments, for the purpose of conferring upon 
the subject of future operations. I wrote Major-Gen-, 
eral Hall to the same purport. On the lllh, I had 
received no answer from General Smyth; but in a. 
note to me on the 10th, General Hall mentioned that' 
General Smyth had not yet then agreed upon any day- 
for consultation. 

In the mean time, the partial success of lieut. Elliot, 
at Black Rock, (of which, however, I have received 
no official informatioii) began to excite a strong dispo- 
sition in the troops to act. This was expressed to me 



J8i5 HISTOBY OP THE WAJt» 

tbroug'h various channels in the slmpeofanalternaiive : 
that they must have orc/ers to act; or at all hazacds^ 
they would ffo home. I forbear here commenting up- 
on the obvious consequences to me, personally, otlon- 
gerwithholdmgmy orders under such circumstances. 

I had a conference with as to the posi»ibillity of 

getting some person to pass over to Canada and ob- 
tain correct intbrmation. On the morning: of the 4th, he 
wrote to niethat he had procured the man who bore his- 
letterto go over. Instructions were given him ; he pas- 
sed oyer — oblained such mformalion as warranted an- 
immediate attack. This was contidently communi- 
cated to several of my first officers, and produced 
great zeal to act ; more especially as it might have a 
controling effect upon the movements; at Detroit, 
where it was supposed General Brock had gone with 
all the force he dared spare from the Niagara frowtier. 
The best preparations in my power were, therefore, 
made to dislodge the enemy from the Heights of: 
Queenston, and possess ourselves of the village, where 
tile Iroops might be sheltered from the distressing in« 
cleiuency of the weather. 

I^eut, Col. Fenwick's flying artillery, and a detach^ 
naei!t of legular troopa under his command, were or- 
dered to be up in season from Port Niagara. Ordersr 
"Were also sent to Geji. Smylh to send down from Buf^ 
fnloe, such detachments of hisbri^iade as existing cir^' 
cumslances in that vicinity might warrant. The at- 
tack was to have been made at 4 o'clock-in the morn- 
ing of the 11th, by crossir»gover in boat» from the oli 
ferry opposite the Heights. To avoid any embarrass** 
ment in crossing the river, (which is here a sheet of vio*' 
lent eddies) experienced boatmen were jirocured to 
take the boats from the landing below to the place o& 
embarkation. JLueuL Sim w-as considered the man 
of greatest skill for this service. He went ahead, ami 
in the extreme darkness, passed the intended place t\ir 
up the river ; and there, m a most extraordinary ma»*> 
ner fastened the boat to the shore and abandoned the; 
i^fiiuchmeut. In the lEQut boat he had carried mtajdf 



every oair which was prepared for all th6 bdats. lit 
this agonizing' dilemma, stood officers atkl men whose 
ardor had not been cooled by exposure through the 
nig-ht to one of the most tret^iendous north-et^st storms, 
which continued, unabated, for twenty-eig-ht hours, 
and deluged the whole camp. The approach of day 
light extinguished every prospect of success, and the 
detachment returned to camp; Col. Van Renssela^f 
was to have commanded the d>etachment. 

After this result, I had hoped tlie patience of the 
troops wouid have continued until I could submit the 
plaa suggested i« ray letter of the 8th, that I mig^f 
act under, and in conformity to the opinion that 
might be then expressed. But my hope was idle: 
the previously excited ardor seemed to gain new 
heart from the late miscairriage— the brave Weremor-- 
tified to stop short of their object, and the timed 
thought laurels half won by an attempt. 

€hi the morning of the 12th, such was the pi-esstire 
upon nre from all quarters, that I became siitisfiedf 
that my refusal to act might involve nie in Mspicioit 
:uid the service in disgnice. 

Viewing affairs at Buffalo as yet unsettled, I had 
immediately countenuanded the march of Genera:? 
Smytlj's brigade, upon the failure of the first expedV 
tion ; but having now determined to attack Q,ueeny- 
ton, I sent new orders to Gen. Smyth to march; not 
with the view of his aid in the attack, for I considered 
the force detached sufficient, but to support the de* 
lachment should the conflict be obstinate and lOng* 
continued. 

Lieut. Col. Chrj^tie, who had just arrived at the 
four mil eCieek, had late in the night of the first con- 
templated attack, gallantly offered me his own and 
his men's service ; but he got my permissiou too liite. 
He now again came forward ; had a conference with 
Col. Van Kensselaer, and begged tliat he might have 
the honor of a command in the expedition. The' ai^ 
rangenrervt was made. Gol. Van Rensselaer was td 



182 HISTORY OF THE WAR.:! 

command one column of 300 militia ; and Lieut. 
Col. Chrystie a column of the same number of regular 
troops. 

Every precaution was now adopted as to boats, 
and the most confidential and experienced men i<> 
manag^e them. At an early hour in the night, Lieut. 
Col. Chrystie marched his detachment, by the rear 
road, from Niagara to camp. At 7 o'clock in the 
eveninjo^, L'cut. Col. Stranahan's regiment moved 
from Niagara Falls-— at 8 o'clock, Mead's — and at y 
Lieut. Col Blan's regiment marched from the same, 
place. All were in camp in go<\d season. Agreea- 
bly to my orders issued upon this occasion, the two 
columns were to pass over together ; and soon as the 
heights should be carried, Lieut. Col. Fenwick's flying" 
artillery was to pass over ; then Maj. IVIullaiiy's de- 
tachment of regulars ; and other troops to follow in 
order. - 

c At dawn of day the boats were in readiness, and 
t^e troops commenced embarking, under the cover.' 
of a commanding battery, mountmg two eighteeav 
pounders, and two sixes. . The movements were soon 
discovered, and a brisk fire of musketry was poured 
from the whole line of the Canada shore. Our bat- 
tery then opened to sweep tlie shore ; but it was, for.' 
some minutesj too dark to direct much fire with safe- 
ty. A brisk cannonade was now opened upon ibe 
boats from three different batteries. Our battery re- 
turned their fire, and occasionally thiew grape upon 
the shore, and was itself served with shells from a 
small mortar of the enemy's. Col. Scott, of the ar- 
tillery, by hastening his march from Niagara Falls 
in the night, arrived in season to return the enemy's 
tire with two six pounders. 

The boats were somewhat embarrassed with the. 
eddies, as well as with a shower of shot : but Col.i 
Van Rensselaer, with about 100 men, soon efi'ected. 
bis landing amidst a tremendous fire directed upon 
him from every point; but to tlie astonishment of all 
who witnessed the scene, this van of the column ad- 



HISTORY OP THE Wxti. ISS 

vjinced slowly against the fire. It was aserioiis mis* 
fortune to the van, and indeed to I he whole expedition', 
tliat in a few minutes after landing-, Col. Van Rens- 
selaer received four wounds — a ball passed throug-h 
the right thigh, entering just below the hip bone — 
another shot passed through the same thigh, a little 
below — the third through the calf of his leg — and a 
fourth cartused his heel. This was quite a cri.'sis in 
the expedition. Under so severe a fire it was difTi- 
cult to form raw troops. By some mismCinagemtnt 
of the boatmen, Lieut. Col. Chryslie did not arrive 
\m\\[ some time after this, and was wounded in the 
hand in passing the river. Col. Van Rensselaer was 
still able to stand ; and with great presence of mind 
ordered his officers to proceed with rapidity and 
storm the Fort, This service was gallantly perform- 
ed, and the enemy driven down the hill in every di* 
reclion. Soon after this both parties were considera- 
bly reinforced, and the conflict was renew ed in seve- 
ral places — many of the enemy took shelter behind a 
stone guard-house, where a piece of ordnance was 
now briskly served. I ordered the tire of our balterv 
directed upon the guard-house; and it was so effect- 
ually done, that with 8 or 10 shot the fire was silenci 
ed. The enemy then retreated behind a large store- 
house ; but in a short time the route became general^ 
and the enemy's fire was silenced except from a one 
gun battery, so far down the river as to be out of the 
reach of heavy ordnance, and our light pieces could 
not silence it. A number of boats now passed over 
nnannoyed, except from one unsilenced gun, Foi* 
some time after 1 had passed over, the victory appear- 
e<l complete ; but in the expectation of further attacks; 
1 was taking measures for fortifying my camp imme- 
diately — the direction of this service 1 committed tt» 
Lffeut. Totten, of the engineers. But very soon the 
enemy were reinforced by a detachment of several- 
liutidied Indians from Chippewa — they commenced 
a furious attack, bat were promptly met and routed 
by the rifle and bayonet. By this time 1 perceived- 



i$4 HISTOlir or THE WAB- 

luy troops were emliarkin^ very slowly. I passed irtiw 
naediiitely over lo accelerate their movements ; but to 
my utter astonishmeiit, C tbund at the very moment 
when complete victory was in our hands, the ardor of 
the unengaged troops had entirely subsided. I rode 
in all directions — urged men by every consideration to 
pass over — but in vain. Lieut. Col. Bloom, who had 
been wounded in action, returned, mounted his horse, 
and rode through the camp ; as did also Judge Peck, 
who happened to be here, exhorting the companies to 
proceed — -but all in vain. 

At this time a laige reinforcement from Fort George 
were discovered coming up, the river. As the battery 
on the hill was considered an important check, against 
tbejr ascending the heights, measures were inmiedi- 
ately taken to send them a fresh su})ply of ammuni* 
tion, as we had learnt there was left only twenty shot 
for the eighteen pounders. The reinforcement, how* 
ever, obliqued to the right from the road, and formed 
^junction with the Indians in the rear of the heights, 
J^inding, to my infinite mortification, that no reinforce- 
ment would pass over; seeing that another severe con* 
flict must soon commence : and knowing that the 
brave men on the heights were quite exhausted, and 
nearly out of ammunition, all I could do was to send 
them a fresh supply of cartridges. At this critical 
moment, I despatched a note to Gen. Wadsworth, ac- 
quainting him with our situation — leaving the course 
.to be pursued much to his own judgment — with as- 
surance, that if he thought best to retreat, I would 
endeavor to send as many boats as I could command, 
and cover his retreat by every fire I could safely make. 
But the boats were dispersed — many of the boatmen 
had fied, panic struck — and but few got oft". But 
my note could but little more than have reached Gen. 
Wadsworth about 4 o'clock, when a most severe and 
obstinate conflict commenced and continued about 
half an hour, with a tremendous fire of cannon, fivitig 
artillery and musketry. The enemy succeeded, in 
repossessing their l)nit^ery ; 'uid ernining advantage on 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 186 

every side, the brave men who had g-ained the victo- 
ry, exhausted of strength and animumtiori, and griev- 
ed at the itnpardonable neglect of their fellow-sol- 
diers, gave up the confl'ct. 

J can only add, that the victory was really won^ 
but lost for the want of a small reinforcement. One 
fhnd part of the idle men wiq/tt have saved all. 

I have been so pressed with the various duties of 
burying the dead, providing for the wounded, collect- 
ing the public properly, negocialing a>i exchange of 
prisoners, and all ihe concerns consequent of such a 
battle, that I have not been able to forward this dispatch 
at as early an hour as I could ha\e wished. I shall 
sooh forward you another despatch, in which I shall 
endeavor to point out to you the conduct of some most 
gallant and deserving officers. Bui I cannot in justice 
close this .without expressing the very great obliga* 
lion I am under to brigadier-general Wads worth. Col. 
Van Rensselaer, Col. Scott, Lt. Cols. Ciiristie andFen^ 
Mick, and Captain Gibson. Many others ha^e also 
♦)ehaved most gallantly. As I have reason to believe 
that many of our troops fled to the woods, with the 
hope of crossing the river, I have not been able to 
Team the probable number of killed, wounded and 
prisoners.* The slaughter of our troops must have 
been very considerable. And the enemy have snfleP- 
ed severely. 

General Brock is among their slaia, and hi$ 
aid-dc-cump mortally wounded. 

I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect and 
consideration, your most obedient servant, 

(Signed; STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER. 

Major' General. 

Major-General Dearborn. 

» It is sine, ascertained thai 90 regulars and militia mere kitUcf, 
tt>irfo86 regulars, and 378 militia, 82 beinf^ tvoif'ulcd. inide pri- -. 
.srters, 

24 



186 HISTOllY OF THE WAR. 



CHxYPTER V. 

Documents accGmpanying the President's 3Iessage 
of JSovetuher 4,^SV2. 
3Ir. Monroe to M?'. Hiissell. 
Department op State, July 27, 1812. 

SIR — I wrote you on the 2Gth of June, by Mr. 
Foster, a letter which he promised to deliver to you in 
person or by a safe hand. 

In that letter you were informed, that the Orders in . 
Council, and other illegal blockades, and the impress- 
ment of onr seamen by Great-Britain, as you well 
knew before, were the principal causes of the war, 
and that if they were removed, you might stipulate aii 
armistice, leaving them and all other grounds of dif- 
ference, for final and more precise adjustment by trea- 
ty. As an inducement to the British government to 
discontinue the practice of impressment from our ves- 
sels, by which alone our seamen can be made secure, 
you were authorised to stipulate a prohibition by law, 
to be reciprocal, of the employment of British seamen 
in the public or commercial service of the United 
States. As such an arrangement, which might be 
jiiade completely effectual and satisfactory by suitable 
regulations and pei;alties, would o|)erate almost ex- 
.clnsively in favor of Great-Britain, for as lew of our 
seamen ever enter voluntarily into the British service, 
the reciprocity would be nominal ; its advantage to 
Great-Britain would be more than an equivalent for 
any she derives from impressment, which alone ought 
to induce her to abandon the practice, if she had no 
other motive for it, A stipulation to prohibit by law 
the employment of British seamen in the service ot 
the United States, is to be understood in the sense and 
spirit of the constitution. The passage of such law 
must depend of course on Congress, who, it might 
reasonably be presumed, might give effect to it. 

By authorising you to secure these objects as the 
grounds of an armistice, it was not intended to restrict 



HlSTOllV OF THE WAR. 187 

you to any precise form in which it shouhi be done. 
It is not particularly necessary that the several points 
should be specially provided for in the convention 
stipulating the armistice. A clear and distinct un- 
derstanding with Ihe British government on the sub- 
ject of impressment, comprising in it the discharge 
of men already impressed, and on future blockades, 
if the Orders in Council are revoked, is all that is in- 
dispensible. The Orders in Council being revoked, 
and the proposed understanding on the other points, 
Ihat is, on blockades and impressment, being first ob- 
tiined, in a manner, though informal, to admit of no 
mistake or disagreement hereafter, the instrument 
providing for the armistice may assnme a general 
form especially if more agreeable to lUe Britisli gov- 
ernment. It may for example be said in general 
terms * that both powers being sincerely desirous to 
terminate the differeiices winch unhappily subsist be- 
tween them, and equally so, th it full time should be 
given for the adjustment thereof, agree, Isl, that an 
armistice shall take place for that purpose to com- 
mence on the day of 

* 2. That they will forthwith appoint on each side 
commissioners with full power to form a treaty, which 
shall provide, by reciprocal arrangements, for the se- 
curity of their seamen from being taken or employed 
in the service of the other power, for the regulation 
of their commerce, and all other interesting questions 
now depending between them. 

* 3. The armistice shall not cease without a previ- 
ous notice by one to the other party of days, 
and shall not be understood as having other effect than, 
merely to suspend military operations by land and sea.' 

Bv this you will perceive that the President is de- 
sirous of removing every obstacle to an accommoda- 
tion which consists merely of form, securing in a safe 
and satisfactory manner, the rights and interests of 
the United States in these two great and essential cir- 
cumstances, as it is presumed may be accomplished 
by the proposed understanding ; he is willing that it 
should be done in a manner the most satisfactory and 



38^ HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

honorable to Great-Brilain, as well as to the United 
S/ates. I have tlie lionor to be. &c. 

JAMES MONROE. 

Mr. Graham to Mr. Russell. 
Department of State, Ani^. 9, 1812; 

SIR — The Secretary left this city about ten tiayi? 
as^o, on a short visit to Virginia. Since that period 
M'"- Baker has, in constqnence of some tlespatches 
from his government addressed to Mr. Foster, made 
to me a commnnication respecting the intentions of 
his government as regards the Orders in Council, 
Xt was of a charactc>r, however, so entirely n)forn)al 
and contidential that Mr. Biker did not feel l)imseif 
at liberty to make it in the form of a note verbal or 
pro memoria, or even to permit me to take a memo-f 
random of it at the time he made it. As il authorises 
an expectation that something nioie precise and de- 
finite, in an official form, may soon be received by this 
government, it is the less necessary that I should go 
into an explanation of the views of the President in 
relation to it, more particularly as the Secretary of 
State is daily expected, and will be able to do it in a 
manner more satisfactory. I have the honor, &c. 

JOHN GRAHAM. 
3Ir. Graham to Air. Hussell 
Department of State, Aug. 10, 1812. 

SIR— Thinking tiiat it may possibly be useful to 
you, 1 do m\ self the honor to enclose you a memo- 
randum of the conversation between Mr. Baker and 
myself, alluded to in my letter of yesterday's datei 
From a conversation with Mr. Baker since this me- 
nu -rand um was made, I find that 1 was correct in 
representing to the President that the intimation from 
Mt"- Foster, and the British authorities at Halifax was 
to be understood as connected with a suspension of 
hostilities on the frontiers of Canada. Yours, Sec. 

JOHN GRAHAM 
Memorandum re/erred to in the above letter. 

Mr. Baker verbally communicated to me for the 
information of the President, that he had received 



HISTORY OP THE WAK. 189 

despatches from his government addressed to Mr. 
Foster, (dated I believe about the 17lh of June) from 
which he was authorised to say, that an official de- 
claration would be sent to this country, that the Or- 
ders in Council, so far as they affected the (T. States, 
Would be repealed on the 1st of August, to be revived 
on the 1st of May, 181;), uidcss the coaduct of the 
French government, and the result of the communi- 
cations with the American jrovernment, should be 
such as, in the opinion of iiis Majesty, to render their 
revival uuijecessary. Mr. Baker moreover stated 
that the Orders would be revived, provided the Amer- 
ican government did not, within fourteen days after 
they received the official declaration of their repeal, 
admit British armed vessels into their ports, and put 
an end to the restrictive measures which had grown 
out of the Orders in Council. 

The despatches authorising this communication to 
the American government expressly directed that it 
should be made verbally, and Mr. Baker did not con- 
aider himself at liberty to reduce it to writing, even 
in the form of a note ver!)al, or pro memoria, or to 
f?ufferme to take a memorandum of his communica- 
tio!i at the time he made it. I understood from him 
that the despatches had been opened by Mi'. Foster 
at Halifax, who in coisequence of a conveisaliorj he 
had had with Vice Admiral Sawyer, and Sir J. Sher- 
broke, had authorised Mr. Raker to say, that these 
gentlemen would agree, as a measure leading to a 
suspension of hostilities, that all captui-es made after a 
day to be tixed, should not be proceeded against im- 
mediately, but be detained to await the future decision 
of the two governments. Mr. Foster had not seen 
Sir George Prevost, but had written to him by ex- 
press, and did not doubt but that he would agree to 
an arrrangenisnt for the temporary suspension of hos- 
tilities. Mr. B iker also stated that he had received 
an authority from Mr. Foster to act as charge d 'af- 
fairs, provided the American government would re- 
■^eive him in that character, for the purpose of ena- 



190 HISTORY OF THE WAR, 

bling bini officially to communicate the declaralioti 
which was to be expected from the British govern- 
ment ; his functions to be understood, of course, as 
ceasing on the renewal of hostilities. I replied, That 
although, to so general and informal a communica- 
tion, no answer might be necessary, and certawdy no 
particular answer expected, yet, I was authorised to 
say, that the communication is received with sincere 
satisfaction, as it is hoped that the spirit in 
which it was authorised by his government, may lead 
to such further communications as will open the way 
not only to an early and satisfactory termination of 
existing hostilities, but to that entire adjustment of all 
the differences which produced them, and that per- 
manent peace and solid friendship which ought to be 
mutually desired by both countries, and which is sii)- 
cevely desired by this. With this desire, an authority 
was given to Mr. Russell on the subject of an armis- 
tice as introductory to a final pacification, as has been 
made known to Mr. Foster, and the same desire will 
be felt on the receipt of the further and more particu- 
lar communications which are shortly to be expected 
with respect to the joint intimation from Mr, Foster 
and the British authorities at Halifax, on the subject 
of suspending judicial proceedings in the case of mar- 
atime captures, to be accompanied by a suspension of 
military operations. The authority given to Mr. Rus- 
sell just alluded to, and of which Mr. Foster was the 
bearer, is full proof of the solicitude of the govern- 
ment of the United States to bring about a general 
suspension of hostilities on admissible terms, with as 
little delay as possible. It was not to be doubted 
therefore, that any other practical expedient for at- 
taining a similar result would be readily concurred in. 
.Upon the most favorable consideration, however, 
which could be given to the expedient suggested 
through him, it did not appear to be reducible to any 
practicable shape to which the executive would be 
authorised to give it the necessary sanction, nor in- 
deed is it probable that if it was less liable to insuper- 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. IDl 

able difficulties, that it could have any material 
effect previous to ihe result of the pacific advance 
made by this government, and which must if favora- 
bly received, become operative as soon as any other 
arrangment that could now be made. It was stated 
to Mr. Baker, that the President did not, under ex- 
istincT circumstances, consider Mr. Foster as vested 
with the power of appointii»g a charge d'affairs: but 
that no difficulty in point of form would be made, as 
any authentic communication through him, or any 
other channel, would be received with attention and 
respect. 

Secretary oj State to Mr. llnsscU. 
Department of State, Aug, 21,1812. 

[Extract.] My last letter to you was of the 27th of 
July, and was forwarded by the British packet, the 
Aithea, under the special protection of Mr. Baker. 
The object of that letter, and of the next preceding 
one of the 26th of June, was, to invest you with pow- 
er to suspend by an armistice, on such fair conditions 
as it was presumed could not be rejected, the opera- 
tion of the war, which had been brought on the Unit- 
ed States by the injustice and violence of the British 
government. At the moment of the declaration of 
war, the President, regretting the necessity which 
produced it, looked to its termination and provided 
for it, and happy will it be for both countries, if the 
disposition felt, and the advances made on his part, 
are entertained and met by the British government 
in a similar spirit. 

You have been informed by Mr. Graham of what 
passed in my late absence from the city, in an inter- 
view between Mr. Baker and him, in consequence of 
a despatch from the British government to Mr. Foster, 
received at Halifax, just before he sailed for Eng- 
land, and transmitted by him to Mr. Baker, relating 
to a proposed suspension or repeal of the British Or- 
ders in Council. You will have seen by the nutr 
forwarded to you by Mr, Graham, of Mr. Baker'f. 



192 JWSTORY OF TH^ WAR. 

cohimunication tohim, that Mr. Foster haS aiitlioi*. 
ised hiffi to state that the commanders of the B;*itish 
forces at Hahfax wouhi a|^ree to a suspension, after 
a day to be fixed, of" the condemnation of prizes, to 
await the decision of both govertiments, withont hovvv 
ever preventins: captures on either side. It appears 
also, that Mr. Foster had promised to communicate 
with Sir George Prevost, and to advise him to pro* 
pose to our g-overnment an armistice. 

Sir George Prevost has since proposed to Gejieral 
Dearborn, at the suggestion of Mr. Foster, a buspen* 
sion of offensive opperations by land, in a letter whiclj 
■was transmitted by the General to the Secretary at 
War. A provisional agreement was entered into be- 
tween Gen. Dearborn and Colonel liaynes, the British 
adjutant general, bearer of Gen. Prevost's letter, that 
neither party should act offensively, before the decr'r 
sion of our government shouhl be taken on the subject. 

Since my return to Washington, the document al- 
luded to in Mr Foster's despatch, as finally decide^ 
on by the British government, has been handed to m^ 
by Mr. Baker, with a remark, that its authenticity 
might be relied on. Mr. Baker added that it was no|; 
improbable, that the Admiral at Halifax might agree 
likewise to a suspension of captures, though he did not 
profess or appear to be acquainted with hissentimeuls 
on that pomt. 

On full consideration of all the circumstances which 
merit attention, the President regrets that it is not in 
his power to accede to the proposed arrangement, 
The following are among the principal reasons which 
have produced this decision. 

1st. the President has no power to suspend judicial 
proceedings on prizes. A capture, it lawful, vests 
a right, over which he has no control. Nor could he 
prevent captnres otherwise than by an indiscriminate 
recal of the commissions granted to our privateers, 
which he could not justify under existing circumstajv 
ees. 



HISTORY OF THE M'AH. 1^ 

2d. The proposition is not made by the British gov* 
eraient, nor is there any certainty that it would be ap- 
proved by it. The propor^ed arrangement, if acceed- 
ed to, might not be observed by the Britisli officers 
themselves, if their government, in consequence of the 
xvai'»shouhi give them instructions of a different char- 
acter, even if ihey were given without a knowledge of 
the arrangement. 

;>d. No security is given, or proposed, as to ihelndians, 
nor could any be relied on. They have engaged in the 
war on the side of the Britisli government, and are now 
prosecuting it with vigor, in their usual savage mode. 
They can only be restrained by force, when once let 
loose, and that force has already been ordered out for 
Jlhat purpose. 

4th Tiie proj>osition is not reciprocal, because it re» 
strains the United States from acting wHiere their povv* 
«r is greatest, and leaves Great-Britain at liberty, and 
gives her time to augment her forces in our neighbour* 
hood. 

5th. That as a principle object of the war is to obtain 
redress against the British practice of impressment, an 
agreement to suspend hostilities even before the lir'u 
ish government is heard from on that subject, might 
be considered a relinquishment ol that claim. 
^ 6th. It is the more objectionable, and of the less im-> 
portance, in consideration of the instructions heretotbre 
given you, which, if met by the British government, 
may have already produced the same result in a 
greater extent and more satisfactory form. 

I might add, that the declaration itself is objection^ 
able in many respects, particularly the following: — • 

1st. Because it asserts a right in the British govern- 
ment to restore the Orders in Council, or any part 
thereof, to their full effect on a principle of retaliation 
On France, under circumstances of which she alone 
is to judge J a right which this government cannot 
admit, especially in the extent heretofore claimed^ 
and acted on by the British government 
25 



iW4: HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

- 2d. That the repeal is founded exchisively on the 
French Decree of the 28th of April, 1811, by whicb 
the repeal of the Decrees of Berlin and Milan, an- 
nounced on the 5th of August, 1810, to take effect 
on the 1st of November, of that year, at which time 
their operation actually ceased, is disreg^arded, as are 
the clauiis of the United Stales arisinnf Irom the re- 
peal on that day, evenaccordinii* to the British pledge, 

3d. That even if the United States had no right to 
claim the repeal of the British Orders in Oouncil 
prior to the French Decree of the 28th of April, 1811, 
nor before the not fication of that Decree to the Brit- 
ish government, on the 20th of May, of the present 
"Vcar, the British repeal ought to have borne date, 
from that day, and been subject to none of the limit- 
ations attached to it. 

Ttiese remarks on the declaration of the Prince 
Regent, which are not pursued with rigor, nor in the 
full extent which they might be, are applicable to it, 
in relation to the stale of things which existed before 
the determination of the United States to resist the 
aggressions of the British government by war. By 
that determination, the relations between the two 
countries have been altogether changed, and it is only 
by a termination of the war, or by measures leading 
to it, by consent of both governnients, that its calam- 
ities can be closed or mitigated. It is not now u ques- 
tion whether the declaration of the Prince Regent is 
.such as ought to have produced a repeal of the non- 
importation act, had war not been declared, because, 
by the declaration of war, that question is superceded, 
and the non-importation act having been continued 
in force by Congress, and become a measure of war, 
and among the most efficient, it is no longer subject 
to the control of the Executive in the sense, and for 
the purpose for which it was adopted. The declara- 
tion, however, of the Prince Regent, will not be with- 
out effect. By repealing the Order's in Council 
without reviving the blockade of May, 1806, of 
any other illegal blockade, as is understood to be the 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 196 

c?ise, it removes a great obstacle to an accommoda- 
tion. The President considers it an indication of a 
disposition in the British jrovernnient to accommodate 
the differences which subsist between the two coun- 
tries, and 1 am inslructed to assure you, lh:it, if such 
a disposition really exists, and is persevered in, and is 
extended to other objects, especially the important 
one of impressment, a durable ami happy peace and 
reconciliation cannot fail to result from it. 

Mr. Russell to Mr. Monroe. 

LoNDOX, Sei)t. 1, 1812. 

SIR — You will perceive by the en(!losed copies of 
notes which have passed between lord C istlreagh an(J 
me, that the moderate and equitable terms proposed 
for a sus[)ension of hostilities, have been rejected, and 
that it is my intention to return immediately to the 
United Slates. 

My continuance here, after it has been so broadly 
intimated to me by his lordship, that I am no long-er 
ackiiowledg-ed in my diplomatic capacity, anrl after 
a knowledge that instructions are jjiven to the British 
Admiral to neofociate an arrangement on the other 
side of the Atlantic, would, in my view of the subject, 
not only be useless but improper. 

It is probable, however, that the vessel in which I 
propose to embark will not take her departure before 
the loth or 20th of this month. 

I have the honor to be, with great consideration, 
sir, your most obedient servant, 

JONATHAN RCJSSELL. 

The hon. James Monroe^ ^c. 

3Ir. Russell to lord Castlereaqh. 

London, Aug. 24, 1812. 
My lord — It is only necessary, I trust, to call the 
attention of your lordship to a review of the conduct 
of the government of the United States, to prove in- 
controvertibly its unceasing anxiety to maintain the 
relations of peace and friendship with Great-Britain. 
Its patience in suffering the many uTongs which it 



196 HIST >RY OF THE WAR. 

hfts received, and its perseverance in endeavoring by 
amicable means to obtain redress, are known to the 
world. Despairing at length of receiving this redress 
from the justice of the British government, to which 
ithad so often applied in vain, and feeling tliat a 
further forbearance would be a virtual surrender of 
rights and interests essential to the prosperity and m* 
dependence of the nation contided to its protection, 
it has been compelled to discharge its high duty by 
an appeal to arms. While, however, it regards this 
course as the only one which remained fv.r it to pur- 
sue with a hope of preserving any portion of that kind 
of character which constitutes the vital strength of 
every nation, yet it is still willing to give another 
proof of the spirit which has uniformly distinguished 
its proceedings, by seeking to arrest, on terms con- 
sistent with justice and honor, the calamities of war. 
It has, therefore, authorised nie to stipulate with his 
Britannic Majesty's government an armistice to com- 
mence at or before the expiration of sixty d lys after 
the signature of the instrument providing for it, on 
condition that the Orders in Council be repealed, and 
no illegal blockades to be substituted to them, and that 
orders be immediately given to discontinue the im- 
pressment of persons from American vessels, and to 
restore the citizens of the United Stales already im- 
pressed ; it being moreover well understood that the 
British government will assent to enter into detinite 
^arrangements, as soon as may he, on these and 
every other difference, by a treaty to be concluded 
either at l^ondon or Washington, as on an impartial 
consideration of existing circumstances shall be deem- 
ed most expedient. 

As an inducement to Great-Britain to discontinue 
the practice of impressment from American vessels, 
1 am authorised to give assurance that a law shall be 
passed (to be reciprocal) to prohibit the employment 
of British seamen in the public or couimercial service 
of the United States. 



HISTORV OP THE WAK. 197 

It is sincerely believed that such an arrans^ement 
wotiUl jDi-ove more efficacious in securing to Great- 
Bntaiii her seamen, than the practice of imj)ressmeat, 
so derog-alory to the sovereign attributes of the United 
Stales, and so incompatible with the personal rights of 
their citizens. 

Your lordship will not be surprised that I have pre* 
sented the revocation of the Orders in Councd as a 
prelininary lo the suspension of hostilities, when it is 
considered that the act of the Biitish govtrnment of 
the 23<1 of June last, ordaining that revocation, is 
predicated on conditions, the performance of which 
is rendered impracticable by the change which is 
since known to have occurred ui the relations betweea 
tiie Iwij cou itries. h c uuot now be expected that 
the government of the United States will immt-diate- 
ly on due notice of that act, revoke or cause to be re* 
voked its acts, excluding from the waters and harbors 
of the United States ail British armed vessels, and in-p 
terdicling commercial intercourse with Great-Bri* 
tain. Such a procedure would necessarily involve 
consequences too u ireasonable and extravagant to 
be for a moment presumed.— The Order in Council 
of the 2od of June last will therefore according lo its 
own terms be null and of no effect, and a new act of 
the British government, adapted to existing circum- 
stances, is obviously required for the effectual repeal 
of the Orders in Council of which the United States 
complain. 

Tiie government of the United States considers 
indemnity for injuries received under the Orders in 
Council and other Edicts, violating the rights of the 
American nation, lo be incident to their repeal, and 
it believes that satisfactory provision will be made in 
the definite treaty, to be hereafter negociated, for 
this purpose. 

The conditions now offered to the British govern- 
ment for the termination of the war by an armistice 
as above slated, are so moderate and just in them* 
selves, and so eaiurel|^ consistent with its mterest and 



198 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

honor, that a confident hope is indulged that it will 
not hesitate to accept them. In so doing- it will aban- 
don no right ; it will sacrifice no interests ; it will ab- 
stain only from violating the rights of the United 
States, and in return it will restore peace with the 
power from whom in a friendly commercial inter- 
course so many advantages are to be derived. 

Your lordship is undoubtedly aware of the serious 
difficulties with which the prosecution of the war, even 
for a short period, must necessarily embarrass all fu- 
ture attempts at accommodation. — Passions exas- 
perated by injuries — alliances or conquests on terms 
which forbid their abandonment-— will inevitably 
hereafter embitter and protract a contest which might 
HOW be so easily and happily terminated. 

Deeply impressed with these truths, I cajinot but 
persuade myself that his Royal Highness, the Prince 
Regent will take into his early consideration, the pro- 
positions herein made on behalf of the United States, 
and decide on them in a spirit of conciliation and 
justice. 

I have the honor to be, with high consideration, my 
lord, your lordship's most obedient servant, 

JONATHAN RU8SELL. 
The Right hon. lord Viscount Castle leaghy &c. 

Lord Castlereayh to Mr. Russell. 

Foreign Office, Aug. '29, 1812. 

SIR — Although the diplomatic relations between 
the two governments have been terminated, by a de- 
claration of war on the part of the United States, I 
have not hesitated, under the peculiar circumstances 
of the case, and the authority under which you act, 
to submit to the Prince Regent the proposition con- 
tained in your letter of the 24th inst. for a suspension 
of hostlities. 

From the period at which your instructions must 
have been issued, it is obvious, that this overture was 
determined upon by the government of the United 
States, in ignorance of the Order in Council of the 23d , 

i 



HISTORY OF THE WAH. 199 

June last, and as you inform me that you are not at 
liberty to depart from the conditions set forth in your 
letter, it only remains for me to acquaint you that the 
J'rince Regent feels himself under the necessity of 
declining to accede to the proposition therein contain- 
ed, as being- on various grounds absolutely inadmis- 
sible. 

As soon as there was reason to apprehend, that Mr. 
Foster's functions might have ceased in America, 
and that he mic^ht have been oblio:ed to viithdraw him- 
self, in consequence of v\ ar having been declared, from 
the United States, before the above mentioned Order 
of the 23d of June, and the instructions consequent 
thereupon, could have reached him, measures were 
taken for authorising the British Admiral on the 
American station, to propose to the government of 
the Unitcil States, an immediate and reciprocal revo- 
cation of all hostile Orders, with the tender of givmg 
full effect, in the event of hostilities being discontinu- 
ed, to the provisions of the said Order, upon the condi- 
tions therein specified. 

From this statement you will perceive that the view 
you have taken of this part of the subject is incorrect ; 
and that in the present state of the relations betv^ een 
the two countries, the operation of the Order of the 
23d June, can only be defeated by a refusal on the 
part of your government to desist from hostilities, or 
to comply with the conditions expressed in the said 
Older. 

Under the circumstances of your having no pow- 
ers to negociate, I must decline entering into a de- 
tailed discussion of the [»ropositious which you have 
been directed to bring forward. 

I cannot, however, refrain on one single point, 
from expressing my surprise ; namely, that, as a con- 
dition preliminary even to a suspension of hostilities, 
the government of the United States, should have 
thought fit to demand, that the British government 
should desist from its anciejit and accustomed prac- 
tice of impressing British seamen from the merchant 



200 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

ships of aforeig^n state, simply on the assurance that 
a law shall hereafter be passed to prohibit the employ- 
ment ot British seamen m the pubhc or commercial 
service ot that state. 

The British government novr, as heretofore, is 
ready to receive from the government of the United 
States, and amicably to discuss, any pro| osition wliith 
professes to have in view either to check abuse in tlkC 
exeriise of the practice of impressment, or to aetom- 
plish b> means less liable to vexation, the objtct for 
which imj-ressment t.as hitherto been found necessary, 
but they cannot consent to suspend the exercise of a 
right upon which the naval strength of the empire 
mainly dej ends, until they are iuUy convinced that 
means can be devised, and will be adopttd, by which 
the object to be obtained by the exercise ot that right, 
can be effectually secured. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient 
humble servant, 

CASTLEREAGH. 

t/. Russell, Esq. &c. 

JWr. liussell to lord Castlereayh. 

LoND N, September 1, 1812. 

My lord — I have heard with much regret, by your 
lordship's note, dated llie 29ih uit. which I did not re- 
ceive until th s morning, that the Prince Regent has 
thought proper to decline to accede to the proposition 
for a suspension of hostilities, contained in my note 
of the 24ih oi August. 

It has been matter of surprise to me that my view 
with regard to the revocation ot the Order in Coun* 
oil of the 2;3d of June last, should ha\e been consid- 
ered to have been incorrect, when it appears by your 
]<»rdship's note that the British government itself had 
deemed it necessary to give powers to the British Ad- 
miral to sti|>ulate tor its tull etTect, and thereby ad- 
mitted Ihala new act was recjuircd for that purpose. 

It now only remains for me to annouiice to your 
lordship that it is my intention to embark imuiediat&ly 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 201 

at Plymouth, on board the ship Laik, for the United 
States, and to request that permission may be grant- 
ed, as soon as may be, for the embarkation of my ser- 
vants, baggag-e, and tlie eftects of this leg-ation, and 
that the necessary passports may be furnished for my 
own, and tlieir safe conduct to that destination. 

I avail myself of this occasion to apprize your lord- 
ship that I am authorised by the g'overnment of the 
United States, to leave Reuben Gaunt Beasely, Esq. 
as its agent for prisoners of viar in this country, and 
to desire that every necessary facility may be afforded 
him in the exercise of that trust, by the British gov- 
ernment. 

I have the honor to be, my lord, your lordship'? 
most obedient humble servant, 

JONATHAN RUSSELL. 

The Rl. hon. lord Viscount CaMereayh. 

Mr. Russell to Mr. 3Ionro€. 

London, Sept. 3, 1812. 
SIR— T enclose herein a copy of a note, received 
yesterday from lord Castlereagh, which will acquaint 
you that I have obtained my passports to return to the 
United Slates, and that Mr Beasely is permitted to 
remain here as agent for prisoners of war 

Immediately on demanding my passport I address- 
ed to the consuls a circular of which you will also 
(ind a copy enclosed. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JONATHAN RUSSELL. 
The hon. Jmnes Monroe, 6(c. 

Lord Casilereayh to Mr. Russell. 

Foreign Office, Sept. 2, 1812. 
SIR — I have laid before his Royal Highness, the 
Prince Regent, your letter of the 1st inst. in which 
you announce your intention to era))ark immediately 
at Piyniouth on board the ship Lark, for the United 
States. 

26 



JW Ml^fbnr OF THE W AK. 

I have already had llie honor of forwarding to yoo 
an admiralty order for the protection of that ship as a 
cartel, on her voyage to America, and I herewith en- 
close to you a passport for the free embarkation of 
J'.ourself and family, in conformity to your request. 
The lords commissioners of his Majesty's treasury 
will issue directions to the comissioners of ihe customs 
to give every facility to the embarkation of your ef- 
fects. 

If previous to your departure from England, yon 
can point out to me any particular manner in which ( 
can facilitate your arrangements, I beg that you will 
command my services. 

• His Royal Highness, has commaded me to signify 
to you, for the information of your government, that 
there will be no difficulty in allowing Mr. R. G. 
Beasely, as stated in your letter, to reside in^this coun- 
try, as the United States' agent for prisoners of war. 

I have the honor to subscribe myself, with great 
truth and consideration, sir, your most obedient hum- 
ble servant, 

(Svgned) CASTLEREAGH. 

J. Russell, Esq. 

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SIR J. B. "WARREifr 
AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sept. 30, 1812. 

SIR — The departure of Mr. Foster from America, 
has devolved upon me the charge of making known 
to you, for the information of the government of the U. 
Stales, the sentiments entertained by bis Koyal High- 
ness, the Prince Regent, upon the existing relations of 
the two countries. 

You will observe, from the enclosed copy of an 
Order in Council bearing date the 23'd of June, 1812, 
thatthe Orders in Council of the 7lh of January, 1807, 
and the 26lh of April, 1809, ceased to exist nearly at 
the same time that the government of the IT. State? 
declared war against his Majesty. 



HISTORY OF THE WAK. 205 

Immediately on the receipt of this (kc'laration in 
Loiulon, the Order in Council, of wliich a copy is 
herewith enclosed to you, was issued on the 31st day 
of July, for the embargo and detention of all Ameri- 
can ships. 

Under these circumstances, I am cpmmanded to 
pro()ose to your g-overnment the immediate cessation 
of hostilities between the two countries and I shall be 
most happy to be the instrument of bringing about a 
reconciliation, so interesting- and beneficial to Ameri- 
ca, and Great Britain. 

I therefore propose to you, that the government <»f 
the U. States of America shall instantly recall their 
letters of marque and reprisal against British ships, 
together with all orders and instructions for any acts 
of hostility whatever against the territories of his Ma- 
jesty, or the persons or property of his subjects ; with 
the understanding, that, immediately on my receiving 
from you an official assurance to that effect, I shall in- 
struct all the officers ijnder my command to desist from 
corresponding measures of war, against the ships and 
property of the United States, and that I shall transmit 
without delay, corresponding intelligence to the sev- 
eral parts of the world where hostilities may have 
commenced. The British commanders in which, 
will be required to discontinue hostilities from the re- 
ceipt of such notice. 

Should the American government accede to the 
above proposal for terminating hostilities, I am author- 
ised to arrange with you as to the revocation of the 
laws which interdict the commerce and ships of war 
of Great Britain from the harbors and waters of the 
U. States ; in the default of which revocation within 
such reasonable period as may be agreed Uj:;on, you 
will observe by the order of the 2^d June, the Orders 
in Council of January, 1807, and April, 1809, are to be 
revived. 

The officer who conveys this letter to the Ameri- 
can coast has received my onlersto put to sea immedi- 
ately upon the delivering of this dispatch to the com- 



204 HISTORY or THE WAR. 

petent authority ; and I earnestly recommend that r\o 
time may be lost in communicating^ to me the decision 
of your government, persuaded as I feel that it cannot 
but be of a nature to lead to a speedy termination of 
the present differences. 

The flag" of truce which you may charge with your 
reply will find one of my cruisers at Sandy Hook, ten 
days af^er the landing' of this despatch, which I have 
directed to call there with a flag of truce for that pur- 
pose. 

I have the honor to be, with the highest considera- 
tion, sir, your most obedient and most faithful humblo 
servant. 

JOHNBORLASE WARREN. 

Admiral of the BluCf and commander in cinefy 5cc. 

Mr. 3Ionroe to sir J. B. Warren. 
Department of State, Oct. 27, 1812. 

SIR — I have had the honor to receive your letter 
of the 30th ult. and to submit it to the consideration of 
the President. :' 

It appears that you are authorised to propose a ces- 
sation of hostilities between the U. States and Great 
Britain, on the ground of the repeal of the Orders in 
Council, and in case the proposition is acceeded to, 
to take measures in concert with this government, to 
carry it into complete effect on both sides. 

Yon stale, also that you have it in charge, in that 
€vent, toent^r into an arrangement with the govern- 
ment of the U. Slates for the repeal of the lawfe which 
intiTdicl the ships of war and the commerce of G real 
Britain from the harbors and waters of the U. Stales. 
Am\ vou intimate, that if the proposition is not acced- 
ed to, the Orders in Council (repealed conditionally 
by that of ihe 23d of June last) will be revived against 
the commerce of the U. Slates. 

I am instructed to inform you, thai it will be very 
saljsfaclor) to the President to meet the British govern- 
Dienl in such arrangenjents as may terminate without 
delay the hoslililjes which now exist between the U. 



HISTORY OF THE WAK. 205 

.Vi States and Great Britain, on conditions honorable to 

''. boih nations. 

At the moment of the declaration of war, the Presi- 
dent g-ave a signal proof of the attachment of the U. 
States to peace. Instructions were given at that ear- 
ly period to the late charge des affairs of the U. States 
at London, to propose to the British government an 
ai'mistice on conditions which it was presumed would 
have been satisfactory. It has been seen with regret 
that the propositions made by Mr. Monroe, particu- 
larly in regard to the important interest of impress- 
ment, was rejected, and that none was offered through 
that channel, as a basis on which hostilities might 
cease. 

As your government has authorised you to propose 
a cessation of hostilities, and is doubtless aware of the 
important and salutary effect which a satisfactory ad- 
justment of this difference cannot fail to have on the 
future relations between the two countries, 1 indulge 
the hope that it has, ere this, given you full power for 
the purpose. Experience has sufficiently evinced that 
no peace can be duriwble mdess this object is provided 
for. It is presumed, therefore, that it is equally the 
inti; rest of both countries to adjust it at this time. 

Without further discussing questions of right, ^ the 
President is desirous to provide a remedy for the evils 
complained of on both sides. The claim of the Bri- 
tish government is to take from the merchant vessels 
of other countries British subjects. In the practice, the 
cunmianders of the British ships of war often take 
from the merchant vessels of the U. States, American 
citizens. If the United States prohibit the employ- 
ment of British subjects in their service, and inforce 
the prohibition of suitable regulations and penalties, 
the motive for the practice is taken away. It is in 
this mode that the President is willing to accommodate 
this important controversy with the British govern- 
ment, and it cannot be conceived on what ground the 
arrangement can be refused. 



g06 HISTORY OF THE W4.E. 

A suspension of the practice of impressment, |>end- 
\ng the armistice, seems to be a necessary conser 
quence. Jt cannot be presumed, while the parties are 
engaged in a negociation to adjust amicably 
this important difference, that the U. States would ad- 
mit the right or acquiesce in the practice of the oppor 
pite party ; or that Great Britain would be unwilling 
|o restrain her cruizers from a pactice which would 
|iave the strongest tendency to defeat the negociation. 
It is presumable that both parties would enter into the 
negociation with a sincere desire to give it effect. 
J^or this purpose it is necessary that a clear and disf 
tinct understanding be first obtained between them, of 
the accommodation which each is prepared to makci 
Jf the British government is willing to suspend the 
practice of impressment from American vessels, on 
consideration that the U. States will exclude British 
^eamen from their service, the regulations by which 
this compromise should be carried into efi'ect would 
\ie solely the object of negociation. The armistice 
would be of short duration. If the parties agreed, 
peace would be the result. If the negociation failed^ 
^ach would be restored to its former state, and to all 
its pretentions, by recurring to war. 

Lord Castlereagh, in his note to 'vh\ Russell, seems 
to have supposed, that had the British government ac- 
cepted the propositions made to it, G. Britain would 
have suspended immediately the exercise of a right, 
on the mere assurance of this government that a law 
would be afterwards passed to prohibit the employ- 
ment of British seamen in the service of the U. States, 
and that Great Britain would have no agency in the 
regulation to give efi'ect to that proposition. Such an 
idea was not in the contemplation of this government, 
nor is to be reasonably inferred from Mr. Russell's 
note ; lest, however, by possibility such an inference 
might be drawn from instructions to Mr. Russell, and 
anxious that there should be no misunderstanding m 
the case, subsequent instructions were given to Mr, 
Russell with a view to obviate every objection of the 



HISTORY OF THE WAR, 207 

kind aHiuled to. As they bear date on tKe 27th Tulv 
nnd were forwarded bv the British packet Allhe-» it 
IS more than probable that tliey mav have been receiv- 
ed and acted on. 

I am happy to explain to you thus fully the views 
ot my government on this important subject. The 
President desnes that the war which exists between 
our countries should be terminated on such conditions 
as may secure a sold and durable peace. To accom 
phsh this great object it is necessary that the interest 
t)t impressment be satisfactorily arranged. He k 
vvdhng that Great Britain should be secured a^^amst 
the evils of which she complains. He seeks on the 
other hand that the citizens of the United Stated 
should be protected against a practice which while it 
degrades the nation, deprives them of their rights as 
Ireemen, takes them by force from the.r families and 
he.r country into a foreign service, to^fij^ht the bat- 
tles of a foreign power, perhaps against th^ir own kin- 
tired and country. 

I;J»^stain from entering, in this communication in- 
to other grounds of difference. The Orders in Coun- 
cil having been repealed, (with a reservation not im- 
pairing a corresponding right on the part of the U 
States; and no illegal blockades revived or instituted 
in their stead, and an understanding being obtained 

no . ':X'' «V"^^^''^^"^^"*^ ^" *'^^ modelier^in H o- 
posed, he President is willing to agree to a cesXn 
of hostilities, with a view to arrange by treat vn a 
more distinct and ample manner, and to the s^^^ 
Hon of both parties, every other subject of controversv-. 
X will only add that if there be no objection to ar, 
accommodation of the difierence relating to impress 
ment,in the mode proposed, other than the suspension 
or the British claim to nnpressment during Uie armis- 

-ami! !^r T *''"''"' .^^ proceeding, without the 
armistice, to an immediate discussion and arran^re 
ment ot an article on that subject. This great X' 



208 HISTOUY OF THE WAR. 

tion being satisfactorily adjusted, the way will be 
open either for an armistice or any other course lead* 
ino- most conveniently and expeditiously to a genera! 
pacification. I have the ^^^^^^'^^^^^^^^ 



BRITISH CHALLENGE. 

lonorant of the fate of the blustering J^ocre^, ^ir 
James Yeo, of the Southampton frigate,senttheto low- 
ing polite challenge toCapt. D. Porter, commanderof 
thi frigate Essex. The kwff, * the iounta.n ot honor, 
dw66jSu- James, a A%A^- we wished Capt. Porter 
the pleasure of drubbing him into a gentleman. 

* A passenger of the brig Lyon from Havanna to 
New- York, captured by the brig Southampton, sir 
James Yeo, commander, is requested by sir James 
Yeo, to present his compliments to captain Forter, 
commander of the American frigate Essex, would 
be <rlad to have 2^ iete-a^tete &ny where between the 
capes of Delaware and the Havanna, when he woud 
have the pleasure to break his own sword over his 
damned head and put him down forward m irons. 

AMERICAN ACCEPTANCE. 

Captain Porter, of the United States tn gate Essex, 
presents his compliments to sir James Yeo, comma.ul- 
injr his Britannic majesty's frigate Southampton, and 
accepts wia. pleasure his ;,o/»7. invitation. It agreea- 
ble to sir James, captain Porter would prefer meeting 
near the Delaware, where, captain P. ])ledges his 
honor to sir James, that no other American vessel 
shall interrupt their tete-a-tete, ^ 1 • ,1 ^ 

The Essex may be known by a flag bearing the 

motto— FREE TRADE AND SAILORS RIGHTS ; 

. And when that is struck to the Soulhamptou cap- 
tain Porter wUl deserve the treatment promised by 

sir James. 

Philadelphia, Sept. 18, 1812. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 209 



CHAPTER VI. 

CAPTURE OP THE FROLIC AND WASP. 

Capt. Jones to the Secretary of the Navy. 

New-York, "Nov. 24, i812. 

SIR — I here avail myself of the first opportunity 
of iHformincc you of the occurrences ofourcrnise» 
which terminated in the capture of the Wasp on the 
18th of October, hy the Poictiers of 74 o^uns, while a 
wreck from dama^i^es received in an engagement with 
the British sloop of war Frolic, of 22 guns ; sixteen 
of them thirty-two pound carronades, and four twelve 
pounders on the main deck, and two twelve pounders, 
carronades, on the top-galiant-forecastle, making her 
superior in force to us by 4 twelve pounders. The 
Frolic had struck to us, and was taken possession of 
about two hours before our surrendering to the Poic- 
tiers. 

We bad left the Delaware on the 13th. The 16th 
had a heavy gale, in which we lost our jib-boom and 
two men. Half past eleven, on the night of the 17th, 
in the latitude of 37 deg. N. and Ion. 6.3 deg. W. we 
saw several sail, two of them appearing very large ; 
we stood from them for some time, then shortened 
Sail and steered the remainder of the night the course 
we had perceived them on. At day-light on Sunday 
the l8th we saw them ahead — gave chase and soon 
discovered them to be a convoy of six sad, under the 
protection of a sloop of war ; four of them large ships, 
mounting from 16 to 18 guns. At thirty-two min- 
utes past 11, A. M. we engaged the sloop of war, 
having tirst received her fire at tlie distance of fifty or 
sixty yards, which space we gradually lessened until 
we laid her on board, after a well supported tire of 
forty-three minutes ; and although so near while load- 
ing the last broadside that our rammers were shoved 
against the side of the enemy, our men exhibited the 
same alacrity which they had done during the wi>ole 
27 



210 HISTOllY OF THE WAR. 

of the action. They immediately surrendered upon 
our g-aining their forecastle, so that no loss was sus- 
tained on either side after boarding-. 

Our main-top-mast was shot away between 4 and 
5 minutes from the commencement of the firing, and 
falling together with the main-topsail yard across the 
larboard fore and fore-top-sail braces, rendered our 
head-yards unmanageable the remainder of the action. 
At eight minutes the gaft and and main-top-gallant 
mast came down, and at 20 minutes from the begin- 
ning of the action every brace and most of the rigginij 
was shot away. A few minutes after separating 
from the Frolic both her masts fell upon deck, the 
mainmast going close by the deck, and the foremast 
twelve or hfteen feet above it. 

The courage and exertions of the officers and 
crew fully answered my expectations and wishes. 
Lieut. Biddle's active conduct contributed much to 
our success, by the exact attention paid to every de- 
partment during the engagement, and the animating 
example he afforded the crevj' by his intrepidity. 
Lieuts. Kodgers, Booth, and Mr. Rapp, shewed by 
the incessant fire from their divisions that they were 
not to be surpassed in resolution or skill. Mr. Knight 
and every other officer acted with a courage and 
promptitude highly honorable, and I trust have giv- 
en assurance that they may be relied on whenever 
their services may be required. 

I could not ascertain the exact loss of the enemy, 
as many of the dead lay buried under the masts and 
spars that had fallen upon deck, which two hours' ex- 
ertion had not sufficiently removed. IMr. Biddle, 
who had charge, of the Frolic, states that from what 
he saM' and from information from the officers, the 
number of killed must have been about thirty, and 
that of the wounded about forly or fifty — of the kil- 
led is her first Lieut, and sailing master ; of the 
wounded Capt. Whinyates, and her second Lieut. 

We had five killed and five wounded as per list ; 
the wounded are recovering. Lieut. Claxlon, who 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. SU 

was confinej by sickness, left liis bed a Utile previous 
to the enjjag'enient, and though too weak to be at his 
division remained upon deck and shewed by Ivis 
composed manner of noting- icnidents, that we had 
lost by his ilbiess the services of a brave officer. 
I am respectfully, yours, 

JACOB JONES. 
Hon. Paul Hamilton Secretary ot the Navy. 



DECATUR'S VICTORY. 

Com. Decatur to the Secretary of the Navy. 
U. S. S. United States, at sea, Oct ao, l'«l-2. 

SIR — I liave the honor to iid'orm you, that on the 
2oth inst. being in lat. 29 deg. N. long. 29, 30 W. 
we fell in with, aad, after an action of one hour and 
a half, captured his Britannic Majesty's frigate Ma- 
cedonian, commanded by Capt. John Carden, and 
mounting- 49 carriage guns (the odd gun shifting.) 
She is a frigate of the largest class, two years old, 
four months out of dock, and reputed one of the best 
saik rs in the British service. The enemy being to 
windward, had the advantage of engaging us at his 
own distance, which was so great, that for the fir-iit 
half hour we did not use our carronades, and at no 
moment was he within the complete eft'ect of our 
musketry or grape — to this circumstance atid a heavy 
swell, which was on at the time, 1 ascribe the unusual 
length of the action. 

The enthusiasm of every officer, seamen, and ma- 
rine on board this ship, on discovering the enemy — 
their steady conduct in battle, and precision of their 
tire, could not be surpassed. Where all met my ful- 
lest expectations, it would be unjust in me to discrim- 
inate. Permit me, however, to recommend to your par- 
ticular notice, my first Lieut. William H. Allen. He 
has served with me upwards of live years, and to his 
unremitted exertions in disciplining the crew, is to 
be imjiuted the obvious superiority of our gunnery 
exhibited in the result of the contest. 

Suivjoined is a list of the killed and wounded on 
both sides. Our loss, compared will) that of the en- 



21$ HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

cniy, will appear small. Amongst our wounded, 
you will observe the name of Lieut, Funk, who died 
in a few hours after the action — he was an officer of 
great gallantry and promise, and the service has sus* 
tained a severe loss in his death. 

The Macedonian lost her mizen-mast, fore and 
main top-masts and main yard, and was much cut up 
in her hull. The damage sustained by this ship was 
not such as to render her return into port necessary, 
and had I not deemed it important that we should 
see our prize in, should have continued our cruise. 
With the highest consideration, &c. 

STEPHEN DECATUR, 

The hon. Paul Hamilton, 

Killed on board the United States seven — and 
five wounded. 

On board the Macedonian thirty-six killed — and 
sixty^eight wounded. 

BAINBRIDGE'S VICTORY. 

Com. Bainbridye to the Secretary oj the Navy, 
U. S. Frigate Coni^titution, St. Salvador ^ Jan 3, 1813. 
gIR — J have the honor to inform you, that on the 
29th ultimo, at 2 P. M. in south latitude 13 06, and 
west longitude thirty eight, ten leagues distance from 
the coast of Brazils, 1 fell in with and captured his 
JBritanmc Majesty's frigate Java, of forty nine guns 
and upwards of 400 men, commanded by captain Lam-^ 
bert, a very distitjguished officer. The action lasted 
one hour and o6 minutes, ni which time the enemy 
was completely dismasted, not having a spar of any 
kind standing. The loss on board the Constitution 
was 9 kdled and 25 vyounded, as per enclosed list. 
The enemy had 60 killed and 101 wounded, certain- 
ly (among the latter captain Lambert, mortally) but 
by the enclosed letter, written on board the shij), (by 
Qjieof the officers of the JavaJ and accidentally tonnd, 
it is evident that the enemy's wounded niusl have been 
mucli- greater than above stated, and who must iiave 



HISTORY or THE AVAiL 213 

dxeA of their wounds previously to their being* remov- 
ed The letter states sixty killed and 170 wounded. 

For further details of the action, I beg leave to re- 
fer you to the enclosed extracts from my journal. 
The Java had in addition to her own crew upwards 
of one hundred supernumirary officers and seamen, to 
join the British ships of war in the East Indies ; also, 
Lieutenant-General Hislop, appointed to the com- 
mand of Bombay, IVIaior Walker, and Capt. Wood, 
of his staif, a id Capt. Marshall, master and command- 
er in the British navy, going" to the East Indies to 
take command of a sloop of war there. 

Should I attem[)t to do justice, by representa- 
tion, to the brave and good conduct of all my officers 
and crew, during; the action, I should fail in the at- 
tempt ; therefore, suffice it to say, that the whole of 
their conduct was such as to merit my highest enco- 
miums. I beg leave to recommend the officers particu- 
larly to the notice of government, as also the unfortu- 
nate seamen who were wounded, and the families of 
those men who fell in the action. 

Tiie great distance from our own coast, and the 
perfect wreck we made the enemy's frigate, forbid 
every idea of attempting to take her to the United 
States ; and not considering it prudent to trust her in- 
to a port of Brazils, particularly St. Salvadore, as you 
will'percivc by the enclosed letters, No. 1. 2. and 3, 
I had no alternative but burning her, which I did on 
the 31st ult. after receiving all the prisoners and their 
baggage, which was very tedious work, only having 
one boat left (out of eighty and not one left on board 
the Java. 

On blowing up the frigate Java, I proceeded to 
this place, where I have landed all the prisoners oi» 
their parole, to return to England, and there remain 
until regularly exchanged, and not serve in their pro- 
fi^ssioiial capacities in any place or in any manner 
whatever agaiust the United States of America, until 
the exchangee shall be effected. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, with the greatest re* 
spect. W. BAINBRIDGE. 



214 HISfORY OF THE WAR. 

Extract from Commodore Wm. Bainbridsfe's Jour- 
nal, kept on baord the U. States Constitution. 
' ; . ' Tuesdai/y JJec. 29, IS12. 

' At 9 A. M. discovered two strange sails on the 
"weather bow. At 10 discovered the strangle sails to 
be ships ; one of them stood in for land and the other 
stood off shore, in a direction towards us. At 10, 45 
A. M. we tacked ship to the northward and westward 
and stood for the sail standing' towards us, and at 11 
A. M. tacked to the southward and eastward, hauled 
up the mainsail and took in the royals. At 11, 30, 
made the private signal for the day, which was not 
answered, and then set the mainsail and royals to 
draw the strange sail off from the neutral coast, and 
separate her from the sail in company. 

* Wednesday t Dec. 30. 
. * In lat. 13, 9 S. long. 38 W. ten leagues from the 
coast of Brazil, commences with clear weather and 
moderate breezes from E. N. E. hoisted our ens gn 
and pendant. At 15 minutes past meridian, the ship 
hoisted her colors — an English ensign, having a sig- 
nal flying at her main. 

* At 1, 26, P. M. being sufficiently from the land, 
and finding the ship to be an E iglish frigate, took in 
the mainsail and royals, tacked ship and stood for the 
€nemy. At I, 30, P. M. the enemy bore down with 
an intention of raking us, which we avoided by wear- 
ing. At 2 P. M. the enemy bemg within half a mile 
of us, and to windward, and having hauled down his 
colors except the union jack at the mizenmast head, 
induced me to give orders to the officers of the 3d di- 
vision to fire a gun ahead of the enemy, to make him 
show his colors, which being done, brought on a fire 
from us of the whole broadside, on which the enemy 
hoisted his colors, and immediately returned our fire. 
A general action with round and grape then com- 
menced ; the enemy keeping at a mucli greater dis- 
tance than I wished ; but could not bring him to a 
closer action, without exposing ourselves to several 
rakes. Considerable manceuvers were made by both 



HISTORY OF THE AVAR. 215 

vessels to i^ake and avoid being raked. The follow- 
ing' minutes were taken during the action : 

' iVt -2, 10, P. M. commenced the action within 
good grape and canister distanee, the enemy to wind- 
ward, hut much iarther than I wished. 

* At 2, 30, our wheel was shot entirely away. 

* At 2, 40, determined to close with the enemy, not- 
withstanding his raking. Set the fore and mainsail, 
and luffed up close to him. 

* At 2, 50, the enemy's jib-boom got foul of our miz- 
zen rigging. 

* At 3, the head ofthe enemy's bowsprit and jib- 
boom shot away by us. 

* At 3, o, shot away his fore-mast by the board. 

* At 3, 15, shot away his main-top-mast just above 
the caj). 

* At 3, 40, shot away the gaff and sparker-boom. 

* At 3, 55, shot away his mizen-mast nearly by tlie 
board. 

* At 4, 5, having silenced the fire ofthe enemy com- 
pletely, and his colors in main rigging being down, 
supposed he had struck; then hauled down the courses 
to shoot ahead to repair our rigging, which was ex- 
tremely cut ; leaving the enemy a complete wreck ; 
soon after discovered that the enemy's flag was still 
flying. Hove too to repair some of our damage. 

* At 20 minutes past 4, the enemy's mainmast went 
nearly by the board. 

* At 50 minutes past 4, wore ship and stood for the 
enemy. 

* At 25 minutes past 5, got very close to the ene- 
my, in a very eft'ectual raking position, thwart his 
l)ovvs, and was at the instance of raking him, when he 
niosl pi'udently struck his flag ; for had he suftered 
ilio broadside to have raked him, his additional loss 
must have been extremely great — as he laid an un- 
manageable wreck upon the water. After the ene- 
my had struck, wore ship and reefed the topsails — 
then hoisted out one ofthe only two remaining boats 
we had left out of eight, and sent Lieut. Parker, l.-^t 



216 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

of the Constitution, to take possession of the enemy, 
which proved to be his Britannic Majesty's frigale 
Java, rated 38, but carried 49 g"uns, and manned with 
upwards of 400 men, commanded b}? Capt. Lambert, 
a very distinguished officer, who was mortaly wound- 
ed. The action continued from commencement to 
the end of the fire, one hour and 55 minutes. 
The Java had her own complement of men complete, 
and upwards of one hundred supernumeraries, going* 
to British ships of war to the East Indies — also sever- 
al officers, passengers, going out on promotion. 
The force of the enemy in number of men at the com- 
mencement of the action was no doubt considerably 
greater than we have been able to ascertain, which is 
upwards of 400 men. The officers were extremely 
cautious in discovering the number. By her quater- 
bill, she had one man more stationed to each gun than 
Vve had. 

* The Constitution was very much cut in her sails, 
and rigging, and many of her spars injured. 

* At 7 P. M. the boat returned with Lieut. Chads 
the first Lieut, of the enemy's frigate, and Lieut. Gen. 
Hislop,( appointed Governor of Bombay) Maj. Wal- 
ker, and Cipt. Wood. 

* Capt. Lambert was too dangerously wounded to 
be removed inunediately. The cutter returned on 
board the prize for the prisoners, and brought Capt. 
Marshall, master and commandant in the British na- 
vy, who was a passenger on board, also, several other 
naval officers. 

* The Java was an important ship, fitted out in the 
completest manner, to carry Lieut. Clen. Hislop and 
staff to Bombay,' 

Letter above alluded to, jrom an officer of the Java. 
Conatitulion, St. Salvador^ Brazils Jan. \st 181-i. 

* My dear sir — 1 am sorry inform you of the un- 
pleasant news of Mr. Gascoine's death. Mr. Gas- 
coineand myself were shipmates in the Marlborough, 
and first <ame to sea together. Re was shot early in 



HISTORY OP THE "l^AR. 217 

the action by around shot in his rifrhl thigh, and died 
in a few miiiutes afterwards, Fourolhers of his mess- 
mates shared the same fate, togetht r with 60 men 
killed and 170 wounded. The official account voii 
will no doubt have read before this reaches you I 
beg you wdl let all his friends and relations know of 
his untimely fate. 

* We were on board the Java for a passage to India 
when we fell in with this frigate. — Two parcels I 
have sent > ou under good care, and hope this will 
reach you safely.* 

Yours truly, H. D. CORNECK. 

Lieut. Peter V. Woody 22d refjimentfitoty 

Isle of France or Bourbouy East indies. 



LAWRENCE'S VICTORY. 

Captain Lawrence to the Secretary of the Navy. 
U. S. Ship Hornet, Holmes' Hole. March 19, 1813. 
SIR — I have the honor to inform you of the arrival 
at this port, of the U. S. ship Hornet, under my com- 
mand, from a cruise of 14o days, and to state to you, 
that after C mi. Bainbridge left the coast of Brazils, 
(on the 6th of .January last) the Hornet continued oft" 
the harbor of St. Salvador, blockading the Bonne 
Citoyenne, until the 21th, when the Montagu, 74, 
hove in sight and chased me into the harbor ; but 
night coming on I wore and stood to the southward. 
K lowing that she had left Rio Janeiro lor the express 
purpose of relieving the Bonne Citoyenne, and the 
Packet, (which I had also blockaded for fourteen 
days, and obliged her to send her mail to Rio, in a 
Portuguese smack) I judged it most prudent to 
change our cruising ground, and stood to the eastward, 
with the view of cruising off Pernambuco — and on 
the 4th day of February, captured the English brig- 
Resolution, from Rio .Taneiro, hound to Moranham, 
with cotfee, jerke<l beef, tiour, fustic, and butter, and 
about 20,000 dollars in spf^cie. As the brig sailed 
dull, and could ill spare hands to man her, I took out 
the money and set her on tire. I then run down the 
28 



218 in STORY OF THE WAK. 

coast for Moranham, and cruised there a sLort lime; 
from thence ran oft' Surrinam. After ciuising oft that 
coast from the 5lh to llie 22d oi Februar}, \\ithout 
meeting- a vessel, 1 stood for Deraarara, with an inten- 
tion should I not be fortunate on that station, to run 
through the West Indies, ois my way to the United 
States. But on the morning of the 24lh, I discover-- 
ed a brig- to leeward, to which 1 gave chaise ; ran into 
quarter less four, and not havnig a pilot, was obliged 
to haul oil" — the fort at the entrance of Demarara riv- 
er at this time be;uing- S. W. distance about 2 1-2 
leagues. Previously to giving up the chase, 1 dis- 
covered a vessel at anchor without the bar wilhEng'- 
iish colors flying, apparently a brig of war. In beat- 
ing round Con obano bank, in order to get at her, 
at half past three P. M. I discovered another sail 
on my weather quarter, edging dovAu for us. At 4, 
20, she hoisted English colors, at which time we dis- 
covered her to be a large man of war brig — beat to 
quarters, and cleared ship for action- — kejjt close by 
the wind, in order if possible to get tlie weather guage. 
At -5, 10, fii»ding I could weather the enemy, I hoist- 
ed American colors, and tacked. At 5, 20, in pas- 
sing each other, exchanged broadsides within half 
pistol shot. Observing the enemy in the act of wear- 
ing, I bore up, received his starboard broadside, ran 
him close on boai'd on the starboard quarter, and 
kept up such a heavy and well directed fire, that in less 
than 15 minutes he surrendered, being literally cut to 
pieces, and hoisted an ensign, union down, from his 
fore rigging, as a signal of distress. Shortly after his 
mainmast went by the board. Despatched Lieut 
Shubrick on board, who soon relnriied with her first 
Lieut, who reported her to be his Britannic Majesty's 
late brig Peacock, commanded by Capl. AViUiam 
Peake, who fell in the latter part of the action — that 
a number of her crew were killed and wounded, and 
that she ^^ as sinking fast, having then six feet of wa- 
ter in her hold. Despatched the boats immediately 
for the Mounded, and brought both vessels to anchci . 



HISTORY OP THE \^.\R. 21^ 

Such sliol holes as couhl be got at, were then pUig- 
ged; her guns thrown ovorboartl, and every pu:>sibl€ 
exertion used to keep her nrtoat, until the prisoners 
could be removed, by pnni:)ing' and bailing", but with- 
out effect, and she unforUuvately sunk in live and a 
half fathoms water, carrying down 13 of her crew, and 
three of mv biave feUows. Lieut. Conner, midship- 
man Cooper, and the remainder of the Hornel's crew, 
employed in removing the prisoners, with difficulty 
saved themselves by jumping in a boat that was lying 
on her bows as she went down. Four men, of the 
1-3 mentioned, were so fortunate as to gain the fore- 
top, and were afterwards taken off by the boats. 
Previous to her going down, four of her men took to 
her stern boat, whicli had been much damaged during 
. the action, who, I hope, reached the shore in safely ; 
but from the heavy sea running at the time, the shat- 
tered slate of the boat, and the difficulty of landing on 
the coast, I much fear they were lost. I have not been 
able to ascertain from her officers the exact number 
killed. Capt. Peake and four men were tound dead 
on board. The master, one midshipman, carpenter, 
and Captain's clerk, and 29 seamen were wounded, 
most of them very severely, three of whom died of 
their wounds after being removed, and 9 drowned. 
Our loss was trifling in comparison ; being only 2 
killed and 3 wounded. Our rijjoinor and sails were 
much cut ; one shot through the foremast, and the 
bowsprit slightly injured. Our hull received little or 
no damage. At the time the Peacock was brought 
to action, the L'Espeigle, (ihebrig mentioned above 
as being at anchor) mounting IG two and thirty pound 
carronades, and 2 long nines, lay about six miles in 
shore, and could plainly see the whole of the action. 
Apprehensive that she would beat out to the assistance 
of her consort, such exertions were made by my offi- 
cers and crew in repairing damages, &c. that by nine 
o'clock the boats were stowed, anew set of sails bent, 
and the ship completely ready for action, At 2 A. M. 
got under way, and stood by the wind to the norlh- 
ward and westward, under easy sail. 



220 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

On mustering next moriniig, found we had 277 
souls on board, including- the crew ot the Amercan 
brig- Hunter, of Purtiand, taken a itw days before 
by the Peacock. Aiid, as we had l)een on two thirds 
allowance of provisions tor some time, and liad but 
3' 400 gallons of waler on board, I reduced the allow- 
ance Lo three pints a man, and determined to make 
the best of my way to the United iStates. 

The Peacock was deservedly styled one of the fin- 
est vessels of her class in the British navy, probably 
about the tonage <.A' the Hornet. Her beani was 
greater by five inches ; but her extreme leitgVh not so 
great by four feet. She mounted 16 twe;ity-four 
pound carronades, two long nmes, one twelve pound 
carronade on her top-gahant forecastie, as a shitimg 
gun, and one 4 or 6 pounder, and 2swiveiS mounted 
att. 1 tind by her quarter bill that her crew consisted 
of 134 men, four of whom were absent in a prize. 
With the greatest resj>ect, Sec. 

JAMES LAWRENCE. 

P. S. At the commencement of the action my sail- 
ing master and seven men were absent m a prize, and 
Lieut. Stewart and six men on the sick list. 



CHAPTER yiL 

CAPTURE OF LITTLE YORK. 

Major-General Dearborn lo the Secretary ol War. 

Head-quarterSt Yorh, Capital of Upper Canadtty 

April '2S(h, 1813. 

Sir- After a detention of some days by adverse 
winds, we arrived at this place yesterday morning, 
and at 8 o'clock commenced landing the troops about 
3 miles westward from the town, and one and a half 
from the enemy's works. The wind was high and 
in an unfavorable direction for the boats, which pre- 
vented the landing of the troops at a clear field, the 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 221 

scite of the ancient French fort Tarento. It prevent- 
ed also many of the armed vessels from takincr posi- 
tions, which would have most effectually covered our 
landing — but every thing that couid be done was ef- 
fected. 

The Riflemen under Major Forsyth first landed, un- 
der a heavy fire from Indians and other troops. Gen. 
Sheatfe commanded in person. He had collected 
hs whole force in the woods near the point where the 
wind compelled our troops to land. His force con- 
sisted of 700 regulars and militia, and 100 Indians. 
Maj*)r Forsyth was supported as promptly as possible; 
but the contest was sharp and severe for nearly half an 
hour, and the enemy were repulsed by a number far 
inferior to theirs. As soon as Gen. Pike landed with 
7 or BOO men, and the remainder of the troops were 
pushing for the shore, the enemy retreated to their 
works. Our troops were now formed on the ground 
originaly intended for their landing, advanced through 
a thick wood, and after caiTying one battery by as- 
sault, were moving on in columns towards the main 
work : when in sixty rods of this, a tremendous explo- 
sion took place from a magazine previously prepared, 
and which threw out such immense quantities of stone 
as most seriously to injure our troops. I have not yet 
been able to collect the returns of the killed and woun- 
ded ; but our loss will, I fear, exceed 100 ; and 
among these 1 have to lament the loss of that brave 
and excellent officer Brig. Gen. Pike, who received 
a contusion from a large stone, which terminated his 
■valuable life within a few hours. His loss will be se- 
verely felt. 

Previously to this explosion the enemy had retired 
into the town, excepting a party ol" regulars, to the 
number of 40, who did not escape the effects of the 
shock, and were destroyed. 

General Sheaffe moved off with the regular troops, 
and left directions with the commanding officer of the 
railitia to make the best terms he could, (n the mean 



222 HISTORY OJT TUE WAH. 

lime all further resistance on the part of llie enemy 
ceased, and the outlines of a capitulation were agreed 
upon. 

As soon as I learned that Gen. Pike had been 
wouiideo, I went on shore. To the Geu. I had been 
induced to confide the immediate attack, from a 
knowledge that it was his wish, and that he would 
have felt mortified had it not been given to him. 

jEvery movement was under my view. The troops 
behaved with great firmness, and deserve nnich ap- 
plause, particularly those first engaged, and under 
circumstances which would have tried the steadiness 
of veterans. 

Our loss in the morning and in carrying the first 
battery was not great, perhaps 40 or 50 killed and 
wounded, and of them a full proportion ot officers. 

Notwithstanduig the enemy's advantage in pusitiou 
and numbers in the commencemeid ot the action, 
their loss was greater than ours, cspeci.iily in officers. 
It was with great exertion that the small vessels of 
the fleet could work into the harbor against a g;iie of 
wind, but as soon as they got into a proper |>osition, 
a. tremendous cannonade opened u,>on the enemy's 
batteries, and was kept up against Uicm, until they 
were carried or blown up, and ha<l} no doubt, a pow- 
erful effect upon the enemy. 

Unfortunately the enemy's armed sliip Prince Re- 
gent, left this place tor Kingston a few days betore 
we arrived. A large ship on the stocks nearly plank- 
ed up, and much naval stores, wtre set fire to by the 
enemy soon after the explosion of the magazine. A 
considerable quantity of military stores and provisions 
remain, but no vessels fit for use. 

We have not the means of transporting the prison- 
ers, and must of course leave them on jjarole. 

1 hope we shall so far complete what is necessary 
to be done here, as to be able to sail to-morrow for 
Niagara, whither 1 send this by a small vessel, with 
notice to Gen. Lewis of our approach. 
I have the honor to be, ice. 

HENRY DEARBORN. 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 2"^^ 

Commodore Chaunceif to the Secretari/ of the Kavj/. 
U. S. Ship Madison, off Yoik, April 28, 1813. 
SIR — Agreeably to your instructions and arrange- 
ments made with jMnjor-General Dearborn, I took on 
board of the squadron under my command the Gen. 
and suite, and about 1700 troops, and left Sacket's 
Harbor on the 26th inst. for this place. We arrived 
here yesterday mornin<jand took a position about one 
mile to the south and westward of the enemy's prin- 
cipal fort, and as near the shore as wc could with 
safety to the vessels. The place fixed upon by the 
INIajor-General and myself for landing^ the troops, 
was the scitc of the old French fort Tarento, 

The debarkation commencetl about 8 o'clock, 
A. M. and was completed about 10. The wind 
i)lowing' heavy from the eastward, the boats fell to 
leeward of the position tixtid upon, and were in con- 
sequence exposed to a gallingiire from the enemy, who 
had taken a position in a thick wood near where the 
iirst troops lantled } however, the cool intrepidity of 
the officers and men overcame every ohslacle. Their 
attack upon the enemy was so vigorous, that he fled 
in every direction, leaving a great rtiany of his killed 
and wounded upon the field. As soon as the troops 
were landed, I directed the schooners to lake a posi- 
tion near the forts, in order that the attack on them 
by the army and navy might be simultaneous. The 
schooners were obliged to beat up to their position, 
which they did iw a very handsome order, under a 
very heavy tire from the enemy's batteries, and took 
a position within about 600 yards of their principal 
fort, and opened a heavy cannonade upon the enemy 
wluch did great execution, and very nuich contribut- 
ed to their Hnal destruction. The troops, as soon as 
landed, were formed under the immediate orders of 
Biig. Gen. Pike, who led in a most gallant manner 
the attack upon the forts, and after having carried t\vo 
redoubts in their approach to the principal work, 
(the enemy having previously laid a trainj blew U[^ 
his magazine, M'hich in its etiects upon onr troops was 



224 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

dreadful, having' killed and wounded a great many, 
and amongst the former, the ever to be lamented 
Brig General Pike, who fell at the head of his col- 
umn by a contusion received by a heavy stone from 
the mag:>zine. His death at this time is much to be 
regretted, as he had the perfect confidence of the 
Major-General; and his known activity, zeal, and 
experience, make his. loss a national one. 

Ill consequence of the fall of General Pike, the 
command of the troops devolved for a time upon Col. 
Pierce, who soon after took possession of the town. 
At about 2 p. M. the American flag was substituted 
foi' the British, and at about 4, our troops were in 
quiCt possession of the town. As soon as Gen. Dear- 
born learnt the situation of Gen. Pike, he landed and 
assumed the command. I have the honor of enclos- 
ing a copy of the capitulation which was entered into, 
and approved by Gen. Dearborn and myself. 

The enemy set fire to some of his principal stores, 
containing large quantities of naval and military stores, 
as well as a large ship upon the slocks nearly finished 
— the only vessel found here is the Duke of Glouces- 
ter, undergoing repairs — the Prince Regent left here 
on the 24th for Kingston. We have not yet had a 
return made of the naval and military stores, conse- 
quently can form no correct idea of the quantity, but 
have made arrangements to have all taken on board 
that we can receive — the rest will be destroved. 

I have to regret the death of midshipmen Thomp- 
son and Rntfield, and several seamen killed — the ex- 
act number I do not know, as the returns from the 
different vessels have not yet been received. 
I have the honor to be, &c. 

ISAAC CHALTNCEY. 

TERMS OF CAPITULATION, 

Entered uito on the 27lh of April 181 :, for the sur- 
rendei of the town of York, in Upper Canada, to 
the army and navy of the United States, under the 
connnand of Major-Gen. Dearborn and Commo- 
dore Chauncey : 



HISTORY OF THE WAR, 226 

That the troops, regular and militia, at this post, 
and the naval officers and seamen, shall be surrender- 
ed prisoners of war. The troops, regular and militia, 
are to ground their arms immediately on parade, and 
the naval officers and seamen be immediately surren- 
dered. 

That all public stores, naval and military shall be 
immediately given up to the commanding officers of 
the army and navy of khe United States. — That all 
private property shall be guaranteed to the citizens of 
the town of York. 

That all papers belonging to the civil officers shall 
be retained by them— that such surgeons as may be 
procured to attend the wounded of the British regulars 
and Canadian mditia shall not be considered prison- 
ers of war. 

That 1 Lieut. Colonel, 1 Major, 13 Captains, 9 
Lieutenants, 11 Ensigns, I Q,uaii,er-ma.ster, i deputy 
Adjutant-General, 19 Serjeants, 4 corporals, and 204 
rank and tile, of the militia. — Of the field train de- 
partment J, of the provincial navy 21, of his Majesty's 
troops 2, and of the Roval artillery 1 bombardier 
and 3 gunners, shall be surrendered as prisoners of 
war, and accounted for in the exchange of prisoners 
between the United States and Great-Britain. 
G. S. MITCHELL, Lt. Col. 3d A. U. S. 
SAMUEL S. COiXINER, Maj and A. D. C. to 

Maji Gen. Dearborn. 
WILLIAM KING. Maj. U. S. Infantry. ' 
JESSE D. ELLIOT, Lieut. U. S. Navy. 
W. CHEVVITT, Lt. Col. com. 3d Reg. Y. militia. 
W. ALLAN, Maj. 3d Reg. York militia. 
F. GAURREAU, Lieut. M. Dpt. 

Extract of a letter from Major- General Dearborn 
• to the Secretary of War. 

Niagara, May 3, 1813. 
York was one immense magazine, which supplied 
Niagara, Detroit, and fort George. The troops were 
hulled a few moments to bring up the heavy artillery 
29 



226 lIliSToRY OF THE WAR. 

to play on the block house, when Gen. Sheaffe des- 
pairing of holding the town, ordered fire to be put to 
the principal magazine, in which was deposited 500 
bariels^of powder, and an immense quantity of shells 
and shot. The explosion was tremendous, and rak- 
ed our column from front to rear with such effect thai 
it killed 52, and wounded 180 of our men, among the 
latter was Brig. Gen. Pike, who died of his wounds 
shortly after. Notwithstanding this calamity, and 
the discomfiture that might be expected to follow it, 
the troops gave three cheersy histanily formcdyand ^ 
warched on for the tonm. Notwithstanding the im- )| 
meiise amount destroyed by them, we found more 
public property than our vessels could bring away. 
Gen. Sheaffe's baggage and papers fell into my hands; 
they are a valuable acquisition. A SCALP was a 
found in the Executive and Legislative Council " 
Chamber, suspended near the Speaker's chair. A 
statement of our loss, as well as that of the enemy is 
subjoined. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed in battle 14 — do. by the explosion 52— 
total 66. 

Wounded in battle 23 — do. by the explosion 180 
—total 203 total killed and wounded 269. 

BRITISH LOSS. 

Killed in battle 75 — do. by their explosion 40 — ; 
total 115. 

Wounded in battle 62 — do. by iheir explosion 23 — ; 
total 85. 

Prisoners, militia 700 — do. regulars 50 — total 750 
total killed, wounded, and prisoners, 930. 
^, ___-_^ 

Brigadier Gen. Winchestery to the Secretary at War, 
Fort George, Upper Canada y Feb. 11, 1813. 
SIR — On the 23d ultimo, I had the honor of com- 
municating to your excellency the result of the action 
utFrenchtown on theriver Raisin, of the preceding 
day. I have it now in my power to transmit to you a 
more detailed account of that transaction, together 






HISTORY OF THE WAR. 227 

*w'\ih a more minute statement of our loss. A list of 
the killed, and wounded, and missing^, is herewith en- 
closed. The attack upon our camp was commenced 
about 6 o'clock in the morning, b} a heavy fire of 
small arms, tog'ether with the discharge of 6 pieces of 
artillery, directed immediately at our lines, and the 
Louses and temporary breatwork, from behind which 
a portion of our troops were engaged with the enemy. 
Early in the action a charge was made by the assail- 
ants; but the tire from our lines was so intense that 
they were quickly compelled to retire. 

In this charge the 4 1st regiment of British regulars 
principally suffered, their loss during the charge and 
in the subsequent engagement, being very considera- 
ble. Out of three hundred of these troops about 30 
fell dead upon the field, and 90 or 100 wounded were 
removed from the ground. 

It is impossible to state with any degree of accuracy, 
the number of Canadian militia and Indians which 
were killed or wounded during the engagement ; it 
could, however not have been small, having received 
forthree or four hours the constant tire of the nmsque- 
try and riflemen, from the breast-work under which 
tliey were formed. The action had endured about a 
quarter of an hour, when the right division of our 
troops, who were less secured by a breast-work, and 
exposed to a heavy fire from a body of Indians and 
militia, who had possessed themselves of some out- 
houses withm their reach, were obliged to retreat 
from their lines in the encampment, for the purpose of 
occupying ground less exposed. This retreat being 
discovered by the enemy, the whole Indian force, to- 
gether with a portion of the mihtia, bore down upon 
them with redoubled violence, and prevented, by their 
superiority of numbers and the severity of their fire, 
the practicability of ever again forming this portion of 
o\if troops in order of battle. It was from this divi- 
sion that our principal loss was sustained, few indeed 
having escaped. Every effort in vain was employed 
to form them in some order of action, as affording the 



*i28 HISTORY OI' THE WAR. 

only means of either repelling-the pursuers or regain* 
ing" the lenij.orary breast-work from behind which 
the remaining part of our troops still gallantly defend- 
ed themselves ; but every exertion was in vain em- 
|Dh>yed, and the very few who survived of the parsty sur- 
rendered as prisoners to the enemy. 

. Our loss in this action will be ascertained by the list 
herewith enclosed. Among the killed, I have to la- 
ment several brave and valuable ofhcers, some of 
whom had distinguJshed themselves in the action of 
the evening of the 18th, and fell on the 22d while uu- 
availingly engaged in rallying the troops, who re- 
treated in disorder from the lines. Amonjy those, the 
loss ot Col. John Allen, and Maj. Elijah Mc Cianna- 
liiui, is to l>e particularly regretted, as also Capt. John 
H. Woofolk, one of my aids-de-camp ; their exertions 
were unsuccessful, notwUhstandmg every possible ex- 
ertion was employed ; they bravely fell in discharge 
of their respective duties. While I regret the fate of 
those who bravely fell upon this occasion, I should do 
injustice to pass over, without notice, the few parta- 
kers in their danger, wlio were fortunate to survive 
them. To Lieut, Col. William Lewis, who com- 
manded on the 18th, and to Capt John Overton, my 
aid-de-camp, who attended my person on the fields 
my thanks ai e particularly due, for their prompt and 
■willing exertion, during every period of the conflict. 
To the officers and soldiers who bravely maintained 
their ground m the temporary fortifications, too much 
J r- ise cannot be bestowed. Assailed by numbers, great* 
ly superior, suporled by six pieces ot artillery, 
they gallantly defended themselves with their small 
arms alone, for n- ar four hours of constant battle, 
JNo troops ever behaved with more cool anddeternnn- 
ed bravery ; from the commanding-ofHcer down to 
the private soldier, there was scarce a single abandon- 
ment of duty ; and at the last when their ammunition 
was nearly exhausted, and surrounded by the enemy, 

greatiy sujjerior in number and tht means of war, snr-» 
rendered with a reluctance rarely to be found upon 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 2*^ 

similar occasions. The officers commanding in the 
breast-work and whodeserve particular notice, if dis- 
tinction could easdy be drawn, were Majs. Benjamin 
Graves and George Madison j Capts. Hightower, 
Hart, Williams, Chulier, Sebree, Hamilton. Keleby, 
Bledsoe, Ballard, and James ; Brig-ade-Maj. James 
Garrai'd ; Adjt. John Mc Calla, and quarter-master 
Pollard Keen ; they defended ihemse'ves to the last, 
with great gallantry, and merit my warmest gratitude, 
as well as the highest praise of their country. 

With sentiments of the highest respect, I am, sir, 
your obedint servant, J. WINCHESTER. 

17 iiegi. V. S. lufautiy 
Kdled and Missing 120,— Prisoners, 64,— total 184, 

Kentucky Volunteer Militia. 
Killed and Missnig — 277 — Prisoners — 452. — total, 
729-ofthemissing5U arrived at Gen, Harrison's Camp 
safe. Total killed, wounded, and Missing, 863. 

The force of the enemy was about 1500, — they lost 
150 killed, and 158 wounded ; among the latter, were 
Col. Procter, and Lieut. Col. St. George. 

MASSACRE OF GEN. WINCHESTER'S ARMY. 

[ The following iSarrative of the Massacre at brench- 
lotvHf after Gen. Winchester s defeaty was drawn up 
hy Lieut. Baker of the 2d liegt. U. S. Infantry.} 
So much ha-s been said about the Indian massacres 
at Frenchtown and its neighborhood, that something 
circumstantial from one who had an opportunity of 
acqun-ing information on the subject may not be un- 
acceptable to the public, I therefore submit the fol- 
lowing narrative. 

On the morning of the 22d of January, I was 
captured by the Indians about 9 o'clock, with anoth- 
er officer and about forty men. Closely pursued by 
an overwhelming force of Indians, we were endeav- 
oring to effect our escape, and had attained the dis- 
tance of a >out three miles from Frenchtown, when an 
offer o\ quarter was made us by an Indian chief. 
Many Indian chiefs on horseback being in our 



230 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

rear, tomahawking the hindmost, and wilhalthcmen 
being" much wearied with runnnig through the 
deep snow, we concluded it best to accept the chief's 
proposition. Accordingly we assembled around him, 
and gave up the few remaining arms that were still 
retained in the flight. In a few minutes the Indians 
on foot came up, and notwithstanding the chief ap- 
peared solicitous to save, massacred about half our 
number. I was led back towards the river along the 
road we had retreated in. Tlie dead bodies of my 
fellow comrades, scalped, tomahawked, and stripped, 
presented a most horrid spectacle to my view. 1 was 
at length taken to a lire near Col. Proctor, where I 
remained till our army capitulated, and marched by 
me towards Maiden. Major Madison,* as he was 
marching past, demanded me of the British officer 
commanding the guard, as an American officer; but 
the noble Briton replied with a sneer, ' You have too 
many officers,' and ordered the column to advance 
-which had made a partial halt. I was taken to San- 
dy creek, about three miles off, on Hull's road, and 
there kept during the night with about 20 other pris- 
oners. Next morning my master left me in charge 
of the old Indian, and with the exception of 20 or 30, 
all the Indians in the camp went back towards the 
river Raisin. They returned about 2 o'clock, P. M. 
bringing a number of fresh scalps and about 30 pris- 
oners, many of whom were wounded, though with a 
single exception, none dangerously. I was told by 
the prisoners that the Indians had that morning re- 
turned to the village, and massacred Capt. Hickman 
and a great many others, and that they were fearfu) 

* After the surrender of our troops to the British, at the river 
Kaisin, the Indians, in violation of the articles cf capitulation, 
crowded among them, and were plundering tlieir property — when 
the heroic Madison desired Col. Proctor to keep them off: — ' the 
Indians are fierce and unmanageable, (said Proctor) it canrui be 
dwie' Madisun cooly replied, ' if you cannot disperse them, I will' 
— the men were ordered to shoulder their arms and Proctor fear- 
ing that ' charge bayonet* would follow, waved bis sword, and the 
Indians iostantly withdrew. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 23J 

Maj. Graves and Capt. Hart were of the number; 
that some of the wounded had been scalped alive and 
burned in the house s. I had scarcely been told these 
things, when a volunteer who was standmg by my 
side, was knocked down, scalped, and afterwards 
tomahawked. Three others were successively treat- 
ed in the same manner. 

Seven days afterwards, I was sold in Detroit to 
some American gentlemen, and the next day sent 
over to Sandwich, where I remained nearly three 
weeks. In this time I had an opportunity of making 
enquiry about the massacres, and found that 60 had 
been massacred subsequent to the day of battle, and 
two officers the day on which the battle was fought, 
after they had surrendered. Of the first were Capt, 
N. G. S. Hart of Lexington, Capt. Paschal Hickman 
of Franklin, John H. Wooltolk, Esq. the eneral's 
Secretary ; and of the latter Capt. Virgil M'Cracken 
of Woodford, and Ensign Levi Wells, son of Col. 
Wells of the U. S. Infantry. Judge Woodward has 
ascertained several instances of great barbarity exer- 
cised on our prisoners, which w ill aj)pear as soon as 
that truly philantropic and patriotic gentleman returns 
to his own country. — Massacres were not only com- 
mitted on the 22d and 23d, but also on the 24th, 25th, 
and 26th, and even three weeks afterwards fresli 
scalps were brought into Maiden. 

Should this relation be doubted, many living wit- 
nesses of high standing for piobity, may be louad to 
attest them. 

Expedition against the Indians — Maj. Gen Sam- 
uel Hopkins, on the lith of Nov. 1812, marched 
with 1000 men under his command, from fort Harii- 
son, on an expedition to the Prophets town for the 
purpose of destroying their village, provisions, &c. 
On the morning of the 19th, a detachment of SOO 
men destroyed a town, and a great quantity of corn, 
belonging to the Winebago t-ibe, lying on the Ponce 



232 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

passu creek, one mile from tlie Wabash, and fouir 
from the Prophets town. On the 20lh. 21st, and 22d 
they destroyed, the Prophets town and a Kickapoo, 
village, on the opi'osite side of ti)e river, consisting" of 
upwards of 200 houses, a considerable quantity of 
corn, &c. 

On the 21st a larg-e body of Indians were discovered 
about seven miles from the town, by a small party, 
who the Indians tired on, and killed one man; the 
next day Lteut. Cois. Miller, and Wilcox, anxious 
to bury their comrade, as well as gain a more com- 
plete knowledge of the situation, and strength ot the 
Indians, set out with a party ot horsmen, consisting of 
about sixty ; the Indians had placed themselves in a 
strong place, on a ridge of land, running betv^een two 
large and rappid creeks, which could not be ascended 
only by a steep ravine, — our party returned, afera 
smart skirmish, in which we lost, in killed, wounded, 
and missing, 18 men. On the 24th, the main body of 
the army sta'ted tor the pupose of destroying the ene- 
my in their strong hold ; but when they arrived at the 
spot, they found they had fled, previous to the storm 
of snow, which fell very deep, on the 23d which pre- 
vented any further pursuit. 

Brig. Gen. Smyth. — In November 1812, General 
Smyth issued several addresses to the inhabitants on 
the frontiers, for the purpose of raising volunteers, to 
cross iiito Canada opposite Niagara. — Including the 
regular army under his command, and the volunleers 
that repaired to his camp, he had, on the 27lh Nov. 
4000 men. Two parties were sent across the river 
to destroy abridge below fort Erie, and capture and 
spike the caimon in the batteries, and some pieces of 
light artillery. After accomplishing their object, ihe 
parties separated by misapprehension ; Lieut. Angus, 
the seamen, and a part of the tioops returned with all 
the boats, while Capts. King, Morgan, Spronl, and 
Houston, with about 00 men, remaned. The party 
thus reduced, took %w\ rendered unserviceable two of 



I 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 233 

tlie enemies' batteries, raptured 34 prisoners, and 2 
bovits, in which Capt. Kini^ sent his prisoners, his own 
officers, and halt of his men across, remaining him- 
S'elf with -iO men, refusiiiy^ to abandon tht m 

On the 3<)th Nov. Gen. Sin\th again attempted to 
cross, with 300U men, l>ut by some.msnnderstandmg. 
O'dy a few woul(i, or couhl be made to embark. 
The killed in both these attempts amounted to about 
20 — the wounded 30 — and prisoners 31. The ene- 
my lost 10 killed — 17 wounded, and 34 prisoners, 
besides an Indian chief. 



Capt. Forsyth, commandant at O^^densburaf, crossr 
ed over to Ehzabethtown on the 7th of February, 
1813, with about 200 volunteers from the mditia and 
citizens, where they surprised the guard, took 42 pris- 
oners, with 1 Major, 3 Captains, 2 Lieutenant«, and 
120 muskets, 20 ntles, two casks of fixed ammunition, 
and <'onsiderable other public properly, which was 
effected without the loss of a man. 



CHAPTER yill. 



Gen. Harrison to the Secretary at War, 
Head QuarlerSy Lower Sandusky, May 13, 1813. 

SIR — Having ascertained that the enemy (Indians 
as well as British) had entirely abandoned the neigh- 
borhood of the Rapids, I left the command of camp 
Meigs with Gen. Clay and came here last night. It is 
with the greatest satisfaction, I inform you, sir, that I 
have every reason to believe, that tlie loss of the Ken- 
tucky troops in killed on the north side of the nve.t 
30 



234 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

does not exceed fifty. On the 10th and llth inst. I 
caused the ground which was the scene of the action 
and its environs to be carefully examined, and after 
the most diligent search 45 bodies only of our men 
"Were discovered — among them was the leader of 
the detachment, Col. Dudley. No other officer of note 
fell in the action. I have strong- reason to believe 
that a considerablenuraber of the Kentuckians effect- 
ed their retreat up the river to fort Winchester, 
Gen. Procter did not furnish me with a return of the 
prisoiicrs in his possession, although repeatedly prom- 
ised. His retreat was as precipitate as it could pro- 
perly be, leaving a number, of cannon ball, a new ele- 
gant slino^-carnage for cannon, and other valuable ar- 
ticles. . The might before his departure two persons 
that were employed in the British gun-boats (Ameri- 
cans by birlh) deseited to us. The information they 
gave me was very interresting — they say that the In- 
dians, of which there were from 1600 to 2000, left the 
British the day before their departure in a high state of 
dissatisfaction, from the great loss which they had 
sustained in the several engagements of the 5th, and 
the failure of the British in accomplishing their prom- 
ise of taking the post at the Rapids. From the ac- 
count given by these men, my opinion is comfiimed 
of the great superiority of the enemy which were de- 
feated by our troops in the two sallies made on the 
5th inst. That led by Col. Miller did not exceed 350 
men, and it is very certain that they defeated 200 
British regulars, 150 militia, and 4 or 500 Indians. 
That American regulars (although they were raw re- 
cruits) and such men as compose the Pittsburg, Penn. 
and Petersburg, Va. volunteers, should behave well, 
is not to be wondered at — but that a company of mi- 
litia should maintain its ground against four times its 
numbers, as did Capt. Sebres, of the Kentucky, in 
truly astonishing. These brave lellows were at 
length however entirely surrounded by Indians, and 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 235 

would have been entirely cat off, but for the gallantry 
of Lieut. Gwynne of the 19th resc-meu', who, with 
partofCapt. Elliott's company, charged the enemy 
and released the Kentuckians. I mclose you a list 
of the killed and wouiided during the whole seijre. It 
IS considerably larger than I had supposed it would 
be when I last wrote to you — but it is satisfactory to. 
know that they did not bleed uselessly — but in the 
course of successful exertions. 

You will also receive herewith a monthly return of 
the troops at camp Meigs for the last month; the 
communication with the other post beijior cut off, the 
returns were not received. A copy of Gen. Clay's 
report to me of the manner of his executing my order 
for the attack on the enemies batteries, is likewise 
forwarded, by which it will be seen that my intention 
was perfectly understood, and the great facility 
with which they might have been executed is appar- 
ent to every individual who witnessed the scene. In- 
deed the cannon might have been spiked, the car- 
riages cut to pieces, the magazine destroyed and the 
retreat effected to the boats without the loss of a man, 
as none were killed in taking the batteries, so com-' 
plete was the surprize. 

An extensive open plain intervenes between the 
river and the hill upon which the batteries of the ene- 
my were placed ; this plain was raked by four of our 
eighteen pounders, a twelve and a six. The euemy, 
even before their guns were spiked, could not have 
brought one to bear on it. So perfectly secured was 
their retreat that 150 men who came off effected it 
without loss, and brought off some of the wounded, 
one of them upon the backs of his comrades. The 
Indians followed them to the woods, but dared not en- 
ter into the plain. 

I am unable to form a correct estimate of the ene- 
my's force. The prisoners varied much in their ac- 
counts ; those who made them least, stated the regu- 
lars at 550 and militia at 800 ; but the numbers of In- 
dians were beyond comparison greater than have 



ever |t)een brought into the iipld btlore; ntuitb^r^ ar^ 
rived aiter the seige commenced, and ihey wpre indited 
the efficient tV,n e ot ihe enemy. 

I have the h^ uorlo be, with great respect, sir, your 
bumble servant. : 

W. HARRISON. 

Fetum of the k lied and wounded at the siege effort 
I\u igs, and the se\eral sorties against the besiegers. 
Killed, 81.— A\ ounded, 189.— total 270. 

J. C FALLAN, Asst. Adjt. Gen. 
The folloniny conversalh^n took place between Moj. 
ijhainbersiund Gen. Harrison, on a demand Jor the 
anrrehcier of Jbrt Mei(/Sf 

Moj. Chamhera — Gen. Proctor has directed pie to 
demand the surrender of this post. He wishes to 
spare the efi'usiou ot blood. 

Gen. Harrison — The demand under present cir- 
cumstances, is a most extraordinary one. As Gen.. 
Proctor did not send me asumn^ons to surrender on 
his first arrival, I had supposed thai he believed use de- 
tcrn»ined to do my duly. His present message indi- 
cates an opinion of me that I am at a loss to ac- 
count for, 

Miij. Chambers — Gen. Prbctor could never think 
of saying any thing- to wound your leelings, sir, — - 
The chara( ter of Gen. Harrison, as an ofticer, is well 
known. Gen. Proctor's force is very respectable, ai»d 
there is with him a larger body of Indians that hav^ 
ever before been embodied. 

Oen. Jiarrison — 1 believe I have a very cprrect 
ideaol Gen. Proctor's torce, it is not such as to create 
the least a| prehension, for the result of the contest, 
vhatever shape he may be pleased hereafter to give 
to it. Assure the Gen. hov\ever, that he will never 
have \\\\8 \iOsl surrefidered \o him upon any ternis, 
Should it fall into his hands, it will be in a manner 
caiculaled to do lilm more honor, and to give him lar- 
ger ciauns upon the gratitude of his goverinnenl, thai? 
any capitulation could possibly do. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 237 

CVPTURE OF FORT GEORGE. 

General Oiarbom to the Secretary of War — Flead* 
quarlf^rs. Fort George (U. C.) May 27, 1813. 
SIR — The lig-'it troops under the coiiiiuaiul of Co- 
lonel Scott and M ijor Forsyth, landed this moruhi^ 
at 9 o'clock. M ijor-general L wis's division, with 
C<>lon^l Porter's command of li;^ntarldlery, supported 
by them. Gen. Boyd's brig'ade landed iminediately 
after ilie lig'ht iroops, and Generals VVnider and Ciian- 
dier in quick succession. Tiie landing' was warmiy 
and obstinately disputed by the British forces ; but 
the coolness a. id intrepidity of our troops soon com- 
pelle<l them to (y-ive way in every direction. Gen. 
C.iandler, with the reserve, composed of his brigade 
amlGoionel IVl icomb's artillery covered the w-iole. 
Commodore Cuauncey had made the most judic.ous 
arrangements for silencing the enemy's batteries, near 
the point of landing. The army is under the great- 
est obligations to that al)le naval commander for his 
co-operation m all its importaut movemonls, and es- 
pecially in its operations this day. Onr batteries suc- 
ceeded in renderi ig Fort George untenable, and 
when the enemy had been beaten from his positions, 
and found it necessary to re-enter it, afler tiring a few 
guns and setting tire to the magazines, which soon ex- 
ploded, he moved otf rapidly by different routes. Our 
light troops pursued them several miles. The troops 
having been under arms from one o'clock, in the 
morning, were too much exhausted for any further 
pursuit. We are now in possession of Fort George 
and its immediate dependencies — to-morrow we pro- 
ceed further on. The behaviour of our troops, both 
officers and men, entitles tliem to the highest praise ; 
and the difference iifour loss with that of the enemy, 
when we consider the advantages his positions affor- 
ded him, is aKtonishing. — We had 17 killed and 45 
mounded. TUe enemy had 90 killed and I GO woun- 
ded of the regular troops. We have taken 100 pris- 
v'>ners, exclusive to the wounded. — Col. Meyers of the 



238 HISTORY OF THE WAR: 

49fh, was woundefl and taken prisoner. Of ours, on- 
ly one cotnniissionecl officer was killed — Lieut. Hobart 
or" the liii'lit arrillery. 

I have the honor to be &c 

H. DEARBORN. 

Gm. Dearborn to the Secretary oj War.^ 
Hmd-Quartersy Fort George j 3Iay 29, 1813. 
\FJXtract.^^ Lieut. Col. Preston took possession of" 
_fort Erie an<l its dependencies last evening, the post 
had been abandoned and the magazine blown up. 

I have ordered Gen. Lewis to return without delay 
to this place, and if the winds favor us, we may yet 
cut off the enemy's retreat. 

I was last evening honored with your despatch of 
the 15th inst. I have taken measures in relation to 
the 23 prisoners, who are to be put in close confine- 
ment. I have the honor, &c. 

H. DEARBORN. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed 39— wounded 111— total 150. 
British loss. 
Killed 108-wounded 163— Prisoners 622— total 893. 
E. BEE BE, Asst. Adjt. Gen. 

Com, Chauncey to the Secretary of the Navy. 
U. S. Ship Madison, Niagara, May 28, 1813. 
SIR — Agreeably to arrangements which I have 
already had the honor of detailing to you, I left Sack- 
et's Harbor on the 22d inst. with about 350 of Col. 
M'Comb's regiment on board — the winds being light 
from the westward, I did not arrive in the vicinity of 
Niagara before the 25th ; the other parts of the squad- 
ron had arrived several days before, and landed their 
troops. The Fair American and Pert I had ordered 
to Sacket's Harbor, for the purpOvSe of watching the 
enemy's movements at Kingston. I immediately had 
an interview with Gen. Dearborn, lor the purpose of 
making arrangements to attack the enemy as soon as 
possible, and it was agreed between him and myself 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 239 

to make the attack the moment that the weather was 
such as to allow the vessels and boats to approach the 
shore with safety. On the 2tJth, I reconnoitred the 
position for landing the troops, and at night sounded 
the shore, and placed buoys to sound out the stations 
for the small vessels. It was agreed between the 
Gen. and myself to mvikethe attack the next morning 
(as the weather had moderated, and had every ap- 
pearance of being favorable.) I took on board of the 
Madison, Oneida, and Lady of the Lake, all the 
heavy artdlery, and as many troops as could be stow- 
ed. The remainder were to embark in boats and fol- 
low the fleet. At 3 yesterday morning the signal 
was made for the flett to weigh, and the troops were 
all embarked on board of the boats before four, and 
soon after Generals Dearborn and Lewis came on 
board of the ship with their suites. It being howev- 
er nearly calm, the schooners were obliged to sweep 
into their positions. Mr. Trant in the Julia, and Mr. 
Mix in the Growler, I directed to take a position in 
the mouth of the river, and silence a battery near the 
light house, which from its position commanded the 
shore where the troops were to land. Mr. Stevens 
in the Ontario, was directed to take a position to the 
north of the light house, so near the shore as to enfi- 
lade the battery and cross the fire of the Julia and 
Growler. Lieut. Brown in the Governor Tompkins, 
I directed to take a position near to Two Mile creek, 
where the enemy had a battery with a heavy gun. 
Lieut. Pettigrew in the Conquest, was directed to an- 
chor to the southeast of the same battery, so near in 
as to open on it in the rear, and cross the fire of the 
Governor Tompkins. Lieut. M'Pherson in the 
Hamilton, Lieut. Smith in the Asp, and Mr. Osgood 
in the Scourge, were directed to anchor close to the 
shore, and cover the landing of the troops, and to 
scour the woods and plain wherever the enemy made 
his appearance. All these orders were promptly and 
gallantly executed. All the vessels anchored withm 
musket shot of the shore, and in ten minutes after thev 



240 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

opened upon the ba^lteries, I Le^f ^\ ere completely si- 
kiiced and abandoned. 

Our troops then advanced in three brigades, the 
adv:ince led b) Coi. Scott, and landed near Ihe tort, 
which had been silenced hy Lieut. Brown. The env 
emy, who had been concealed in a ravine, now ad» 
vanced in great force to the edge of the bank to 
charge our troops. The schodners opened so well di- 
rected and tremendous a fire of grape and canister, 
that the. enemy soon retreated from the bank. Our 
troops formed as soon as they landed, and niimediate- 
ly ascended the bank, charged and routed the enemy 
in every direction, the schooners keeping up a con- 
stant well directed fire upon him in his retreat towards 
the town. Owing to the wind's having sprung up 
very fresh from the eastward, which caused a heavy 
sea directly on shore, I was not enabled to get thd 
boats off' to land the troops from the Madison and 
Oneida, before the first and second brigades had ad- 
vanced. Capt. Smith with the marines, landed with 
Col. M'C<mb's regiment, and [had prepared 400 
seamen, which I intended to land with myself, if the 
enemy had made a stand ; but our troops pursued him 
so rapidly into the town and fort George, thatl found 
there was no necessity for more torce ; moreover, the 
wind had increased so much and hove such a sea on 
shore, that the situation ol the fleet had .become dan- 
gerous and critical. 1 therefore, made a signal for 
tlie fleet to weigh, and ordered them mto the river, 
where they anchored immediately after the enemy 
had abandoned fort George. The town and forts 
were in quiet possession of our troops at 12 o'clock, 
ad the enemy retired in a direction towards Queens- 
town. 

Capt. Perry joined me from Erie on the evening of 
the 25th, and very gallantly volunteered his services, 
and 1 haNe much pleasure in acknowledging the 
great assistance which I received irom him. We 
lost but one killed and two wounded, and no injury 
done to the vessels. 

ISAAC CHAUNCEY- 



HISTORY OP THE WAB. 241 

Com. Chauncey to the Secretary of the Navy. 
XJ. S. Ship Madison, Sacket's Harbor, June 4, 1813. 
SIR — I have the honor to present to you by the 
hands of Lieut. Dudley, the British standard taken at 
York on the 27th of April last, accompanied by the 
mace^ over which hung a human hCALP. — These 
articles were taken from the Farlaimeut houtte by one 
of my officers and presented to me. The scalp I 
caused to be presented to Gen. Dearborn, who 1 be- 
lieve still has it in his possession. I also send by the 
same gentleman, one of the British tlags taken at fort 
Geerge on the 27th of May. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

ISAAC CHAUNCEY. 

Lieut, Chauncey to Com. Ciiauna^. 

Sacket's Harbor, June 18, 1813. 
SIR — According" to your orders of the 14th inst. 
J proceeded off Presque Isle in the schooner Lady of 
the Lake. On the morning of the 16th I fell in with 
and captured tiie English schooner Lady Murray, 
from Kingston bound to York, loaded with provisioiib 
^nd anmiunition. 

Enclosed is a list of one ensign, 15 non-commis- 
sioned officers and privates found on board, with 6 
men attached to the vessel. 

I have the honor to he, k.c. 

WOLCOTT CHAUNCEY, 

JSatile at forty wile ^reek. Upper Canada. 
Gen. Vincent having taken his stand at forty mile 
Creek, about 33 miles from fort George, after his de- 
feat at the fort, Brig. Gen. Winder was sent in pur- 
$uit of him. On the 4th of June, Brig. Gen. Chand- 
ler, with another detachment, was sent off from fort 
George to reinforce Gen. Winder, and arrived at 
Jlead Q;Uarters the 5th. A deserter from the Amer- 
ican camp informed Gen. Vincent of the situation of 
the army, and gave him the countersign ; in five min- 
utes the whole English army were in motion, aud at 
31 



242 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

2 o'clock on the Trjorning- of the 6lh entered onr camp. 
The two Generals Winder and Chandler, in endeav- 
orino^ to form the troops, and the deputy quarter-mas- 
ter General Vandeventer, were surrounded and taken 
prisoners. Our army formed immediately and at- 
tacked the enemy at the point of the hayonet, v^hich 
soon occasioned a qi^eneral roule, the enemy taking 
■oft" his prisoners, and leaving* Col. Clarke, sixty pris- 
oners, and 2o0 killed in our hands. Our loss was 17 
killed, 38 wounded, and 100 missing- total 155 

ATTACK ON SACKETT'S HARBOR. 

Gen. J3rmvn to the Secretary of War. 

Head Quarters, Sachett's H arbor ^ June 1, 1813. 

On the 25lh ultimo, I received a letter from Gen. 
Dearborn, requesting- me to repair to this post for the 
purpose of taking command. Knowing that Lieut. 
Col. Backus, an officer of the first regiment of dra- 
goons, and of experience, was here, I hesitated, as I 
would do no act which might wound his feelings. In 
the night of the 27lh I received a note from this officer, 
by Maj. Swan, deputy quarter-master Gen. joining in 
the request already njade by Maj. Gen. Dearborn. "1 
could no longer hesitate, and accordingly arrived at 
this post early in the morning of the 28th. These 
circumstances will explain how 1 came to be in com- 
mand upon this occasion. Knowing well the ground, 
my arrangements for defence, in the event of an attack, 
were soon made. 

In- the cour<5e of the morning of the 28th, Lieut. 
Chauncev, of the navy, came in from the lake, tiring 
guns of alarm. Those of the same character, intended 
to bring in the militia, were tired from the posts. 
The enemy's fleet soon after appeared accompained 
by a larjj-e number of boats. Believinj;^ that he 
•would land on the peninsula, commonly called Horse 
Island, I determined to meet him at the water's edge 
with such militia as I could collect and the Albany 
volunteers, under the command of Lieut. Col. Mills ; 
Lieut. Col. Backus, with the regulars, formed a se- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 5^-13- 

coiul line; the cure of fort Tompkins was coinmilled 
to the reoular artillerists and some volunteers, and 
tliatofNavv Point to Lieut, Clianncey ofthenavv. 
If driven Irom my position. Lieut. Col. Backus, was 
ordered to advance and meet the head of tli© enemy's, 
column, while rallying my corps. I was to fall on 
its Hanks. If uuable here to resist the enemy's attack, 
Lieut. Chauncey was in that case to destroy the stores, 
Nic. and retire lo the south shore of the bay, east of 
Fort Volunteer, while I proceeded io occupy that 
fort as our dernier resort. 

In the course of the ^Tth and durinnf the nisihts of 
the "iHth, and 'jyiii, ultimo, a considerable militia force 
came in, and were ordereil to the water side near 
Horse Island, on which was Lieut. Col. Mills and 
his volunteers. Our strenj>th at this point was now 
500 men — all anxious for battle, as far as proiession 
wou'd g-o. The moment it was light enough to dis- 
cover the approach of ihe enemy, we found his shi[)s 
in line between Horse Island and Stony Pomt, and in 
a few mmtites afterwards ;3."3 large bo its filled with 
troops, came off to the larger Indian or Garden Island, 
under cover ot the fire of his gun boats. iVl y orders 
' Avere, that the troops should lie close and reserve 
their fire till the enemy had ajjpioached so near that 
every shot might hit its object. It is, however, im- 
possible to execute such orders with raw troops unac- 
customed to subordination. My orders were in this ' 
case disobeyed. The whole line fired, and not. with- 
out effect — but in the moment while I was contem- 
plating this, to my utter astonishment, thev rose from 
their cover and tied. Col. Mills fell gallantly m 
brave but in vain endeavors to stop his men. I was 
personally more fortunate. Gdhering together about^ 
100 militia, u.ider the immediate command of Capt. 
M'Nitt of that corps, we threw ourselves on the rear 
of the enemy's left flank, and I trust, did some execu- 
tion. It was during this last movement that tlie re- 
galai's under Col. Backus, first engagi^d the enemy- — 
nor was it long before they deieated him. 



•244 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Hnrryinef to this point of action, I found the battle 
still raging", but with obvious advantage on our side. 
The result ot the action, so glorious for the officers 
and soldiers of the regular army, has already been 
communicated in my letter of the 29th. H«d not 
Gen. Pre vost retreated most r«/>tV//y under the guns 
of his vessels, he would never have returned to Kings- 
ton. 

The enemy's force consisted of 1000 picked men, 
led by sir George Prevost in person. Their fleet con- 
sisted of the new ship Wolfe, the Royal George, the 
Prince Regent, Earl of Moira, two armed schooners, 
and their g-un and other boats. 

Lieut. Col Tuttle was in march for this post, but 
with every exertion was unable to reach it in time to 
take part in the action. This is felt by the Col. and 
every officer of his detachment, as a misfortune. 

JACOB BROWN. Brig. Gen. iV. Y. Militia. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed, 21.— Wounded, 84,— Missing, 50,— total 155, 
WM. SWANN. Act. Adjt. General. 

BRITISH L' SS. 

Killed, 39, — Wounded, 112, — Prisoners, 35,— total, 
186. 

Gen. Lewis to the Secretary of War. 

Sacket's Harbor, July 20, 1818. 

[Extraft.~\ Our fleet has gone out of the inner har- 
l)or, and appearances are in favor of its going to sea 
in 48 hours at farthest. 

A little expedition of volunteers from the country, 
to which, by the advice of C;»ra. Chauncey, I lent 40 
soldiers, sailed from hence three days since on board 
of two small row boats, with a six pounder each, to 
the head of the Ht. Lawrence, where they captured a 
fine crun boat mounting a 24 pounder, 14 batteaux 
loaded, 4 officers and tJl men. Two ot our schoon- 
ers went out and convoyed them m. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 246 

Gen. Harrison to the Secretary of JVar, 
Head-Q,aarters, Seneca, Auu:. 5, 1813. 
I have the honor to enclose you Major Cro^han's 
report ot the attack upon fort Stephenson, which has this 
luoment come to hand. W ith great respect, ^c. 

W. H. HARRISON. 

Major Croghan to Gen. Harrison. 

Lower-Sandusky, Aug. 5, 1813. 
Dear Sir — 1 have llie honor to inform you that the 
combined force of the enemy, amounting to at least 
500 regulars and seven or eight hundred Indians, 
under the immediate command of Gen. Proctor, made 
its appearance before this place, early on Sunday 
evening last, and as soon as the Gen. had made such 
disposition of his troops as would cut oti' my retreat, 
should I be disposed to make one, he sentC >t. Elliott, 
accompanied by Major Chambers, with a flag, to de- 
mand the surrender of the fort, as he was anxious to 
spare the eftusion of blood, which he should probably 
not have in his power to do, should he be reduced to 
the necessity of taking the place by storm. My an- 
swer to the summons was, that I was determined to 
defend the place to the last extremity, and that no force 
however large, should induce me to surrender it. So 
soon as the flag had returned, a brisk fire was opened 
upon us from the gun boats in the river and from a 
6 1-2 inch howitzer on shore, which was kept up with 
little mtermission throughout the night. At an early 
^ hour the next morning, three sixes ( which had beeu 
A placed during the night within 250 yards of the pick- 
els) began to play upon us, but with liltle eflect. 
,Y About 4 o'clock P. M. discovering that the fire from 
© all his guns were concentrated against the north- 
t' western angle of the fort, I became confident that his 
: object was to make a breach, and attempt to storm the 
works at that point. I therefore ordered out as many 
men as could be employed for the purpose of strength- 
ening that part, which was so eflectually secured by 
means of bags of flour, sand, 6tc. that the picketing 



246 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

suffered little or no injury ; nolwithstanding; which, 
the enemy about 500, having formed in a close col- 
umn advanced to assault our works at the expected 
point, at the same time making two femls on the front 
of Capt. Hunter's hnes. The column which advanc- 
ed against the north-western agle, consistmg of about 
850 men, was so enveloped in smoke, as not to be 
discovered until it had approached within 18 or 20 
paces of the lines, but the men being all at then* posts 
and ready to receive it, commejiced so heavy and gal- 
lino- a fire as to throw the column a litlle into confu- 
sion ; being quickly rallied it advanced to the ouler 
works and began to leap into the ditch. Just at that, 
moment a fire of grape was opened from our 6 poun- 
der (which had been previously arranged so as to 
rake in that direction) which together with the mus- 
ketry, threw them into such confusion that they were 
compelled to retire precipitately to the woods. 

During the assault, which lasted about half an hour, 
an incessant fire was kept up by the enemy's artillery 
(which consisted of five sixes and a howitzer J but 
without effect. My whole loss during the siege was 
one killed and seven wounded slightly. — -.The loss of 
the enemy in killed, wounded, and prisoners, nmst 
exceed 150; one Lieut, Colonel, a Lieut, and hfty 
rank and file were found ni and about the ditch, dead 
or woun^ied. Those of the remainder who were not 
able to escape, were taken off during the night by the 
Indians. Seventy stand of arms, and several braces 
of pistols have been collected near the works. About 
three in the morning the enemy sailed down (he riv- 
er, leaving behind them a boat containing clothing 
and considerable military stores. 
Yours with respect. 
G. CROGHAN, Maj. 17th U. S. Infantry. 

By a letter from Gov. Huntington, dated Lower 
Sandushyy Aug. 4, it ap|)ears that Major Croghan's 
force was 160, and that of tiie enemy 800. It further 
states that the enemy lost 40 men kdled in the ditch. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 247 

witli Lieut. Col. Short, and several officers; and 
about the same number of refjulars while advancino" 
to the attack, besides Indians. Onr loss was oiie 
killed, and tive wounded. — Tlie enemy 83 killed and 
25 prisoners.' 

' What will Gen. Proctor say, when he finds he has 
been baffled by a youth but just passed his 2 1st year. 
He is, however, a' Hero wortijy of his g-allant uncle 
Gen. Georije Ji. Clarke.' [See Gen. Harrison tojlie 
Secretary of War^^ 

LOSS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 

Lieut. Budd to the Secretary of the Aavy, 

Halifax, J axe 15, 1813. 

SIR — The unfortunate death of Capt. James LaW' 
rence and Lieut. Auyustus C. Ludlow, has rendered 
it my duty to inform you of the capture of the late 
U. States Frig-ate Chesapeake. 

On Teusday, June 1, at 8 A. M. we unmoored 
ship and at meridian got under way from President's 
Roads, with a light wind from the southward and 
westward, and proceeded on a cruise. A ship was 
then in sight in the offing which had the appearence 
of a ship of war, and which, from information received 
from pilot boats and craft, we believed to be the Brit- 
ish Frigate Shannon. We made sail in chase and 
cleared ship for action. At half past 4 P. M. she hove 
to, with her head to the southward and eastward. 
At 5 P, M. took in the royals and top-gallant-sails 
and at half past five hauled the courses up. About 15 
minutes before 6 P. M. the action commenced within 
j>islol shot. The first broadside did great execution 
on both sides, damao'ed our riu^ino-, killed amontv 
others Mr. White the sailing master, and wounfled 
Capt. Lawrence. In about 12 minutes after the com- 
mencement of the action, we fell on board of the en- 
emy and immediately after one of our arm chests on 
the quarter-deck was blown up by a hand grenade 
thrown from the enemy's ship. In a few minutes one 
ot the Captain's aids came on the gun deck to inform 
me that the boarders were called. I immediateK 



248 HISTORY OF THE WAH, 

called the boarders away and proceeded to tlie spar 
deck, where I found that the enemy had succeeded in 
]i)oarding us and had gained possession of our quarter 
deck. 1 immediately gave orders to haul on board 
the fore tack, for the purpose of shooting the ship 
clear of the other, and then made an attempt to re- 
gain the quarter deck, but was wounded and thrown 
down on the gun deck. 1 again made an effort to col- 
lect the boarders, but in the mean time the enemy had 
gained complete possession of the ship. On my being 
carried down to the cock-pit, I there found Captain 
Lawrence and Lieut. Ludlow both mortally wound- 
ed ; the former had been carried below previously to 
the ship's being boarded ; the latter was wounded in 
attempting to repel the boarders. Among those who 
fell early in the action was Mr. Edward J. Ballard, 
the 4th Lieut, and Lieut. James Broom of marines. 

I herein enclose to you a return of the killed and 
wounded, by which you wdl perceive that every offi- 
cer, upon whom the charge of the ship would devolve, 
■was either killed or wounded previously to her cap- 
ture. The enemy report the loss of Mr. Watt, their 
first Lieut, the purser, the Captain's clerk, and 23 
seamen killed; and Capt. Broke, a midshipman and 
66 seamen wounded. 

The Shannon had, in addition to her full comple- 
ment, an officer and 16 men belonging to the Belle 
Poule, and a part of the crew belonging to the Ten- 
dos. I have the honor to be, Sec. 

GEORGE BUDD. 

Killed on board the Chesapeake 60 — wounded 86. 

Commodore Chauncey to the Secretary of the Navy, 
U. S. ship Gen. Pike, Niagara, Aug. 4, 1813. 
[Extract'] On the 25th 1 was joined by the Pert, 
and on the27lh by the Lady of the Lake with guides, 
and Capt. Crane's company of artillery, and Col. 
Scott, who had very handsomely volunteered for the 
service — After conversing with Col. Scott upon the 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 249' 

snbiect, it was thonocht advisable \o take on board 250 
lij.a try, which by the extraordinary exertions of that 
excellent officer, were enibarked before six o'clock 
the next mornin»" ; we arrived and anchored in the 
harbor of York, at about 3 P M. on the 31st, run 
the shooners nHothe up er harbor, landed the marines 
and soldiers under the command ol Col. Scott, with- 
out opposition, found several hundred barrels of flour 
and provisions in the public storehouse, five pieces of 
cannon, elevei» boats, and a quantity of shot, shells and 
other stores, all which were either destroyed oi* 
broug'ht away. On the 1st inst. just after receiving- 
on board all the vessels could take, I directed the 
barracks and the public store houses to !)e burnt ; we 
then re-embarked the men and proceeded for this 
place, where [ arrived yester<lay. Between 4 and 
.500 men left York for the head of the lake two days 
before we arrived there. Some few prisoners were 
taken, some of whom w ere paroled, the others have 
been landed at Fort George. 

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully vour 
obedient servant. ISAAC CHAUNCE Y. 

Burninr/ of Sodns, N". V. — Sodus was the first 
town burnt in this war. This was a handsome little 
village of about 40 houses. The British appeared off 
the place, the 17th June, 1813, but finding a consider- 
able militia force, put off into the Lake. The mili- 
tia were disi^anded on the 20th, when the enemy 
again returned, and effected a landing. — Finding the 
public stores, chiefly removed, they immediately set fire 
to every valuable house in the village, and returned to 
their vessels, after suftering a loss of 4 killed, and sev- 
eral wounded, bv a few citizens. The enemy's force 
consisted of the Royal George, Earl Moira, Prince 
\ Regent, Simcoe Sclu*. aiul several small boats and 
tenders. 

I Attack on Craney Island. (Vir)—Ox\ the 20tli 
June, the British attempted a landing ou this Island; 
• 32 



250 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

for the purpose of more easily conquering Norfolk. 
Thirteen ships of the line anchored off Jumes river, 
from which about 3500 troops were embarked lor 
Craney Island. — Com. Cassin, of the gun boats and 
Capt. Morris of the Constellation frigate manned two 
batteries with 250 men on the point of the Island to 
receive them ; the remainder of the force, 200 were 
stationed on the beach. At 8 o'clock the barges at- 
tempted to land, but were driven back, wilh the loss of 
250 killed and wounded, and 45 prisoners, and their 
largest barge, which was sunk, wilh 75 men on board ; 
the boat and 20 men were finally saved by the Amer- 
icans — our loss was 28 killed and wounded. 

Capture of Hampton. — The 25th of June, the force 
that attempted Craney Island, landed at Hampton, 
and carried it after a gallant defence made by our 
militia, 436 strong, for forty-five minutes. The enemy 
attacked us by land and water ; their land force was 
about 2500 strong, of whom 400 were riflemen. Af- 
ter our men were completely surrounded, they saw 
that they must either surrender, or, break their way 
through the enemy's lines. They resolved upon the 
latter, when the gallant Maj. Crutchjield, led tht m on, 
and broke the lines, and made good their retreat, af- 
ter killing and wounding 200 of their adversaries. 
Our loss on this occasion was seven killed, twelve 
wounded, and twelve prisoners. 

A scene now commenced sufficient to chill the blood 
of the Savages, and even put them to the blush. 

'To give you, sir, (says Maj. Crutchfield in his offi- 
cial account to Gov. Barbour,^ an idea of the savage- 
likedispositionof theenemy,on their getting possession 
of the neighborhood, would be a yam attempt. Al- 
though Sir Sidney Beckwith assured me that no un- 
easiness need be felt, in relation to the unfortunate 
Americans, the fact is that on yesterday, [two days af- 
ter the battle,] there were several dead bodies lying 
unburied, and the wounded not even assisted into the 
town, although observed to be crawling through the 
fields towards a cold and inhospitable protection. 



I 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 26i 

• The unfortunate females of Hampton, who could 
hot leave the town, were suffered to be abused in the 
most shameful manner, not only by the venal savage 
foe, but by the unfortunate and infatuated blacks who 
were encouraged in their excesses. Tiiey pillaged 
and encouraged every act of rapine and murder, kil- 
ling a poor man, by the name ot" Kirbt/ who had been 
lying on his bed at the point of death, for more than six 
weeks, shooting his wife at the same time in the 
hip, and killing his faithful dog lying under his feet. 
The murdered Kirby was lying last night, welter- 
ing in his blood.' 

Extract from a letter of Capl. Coopcrt to Lieut, 
Gov.Mallonj, — 'The enemy took possession of Hamp- 
ton, with upwards of 2000 men against those above 
mentioned, with the immense loss of upwards of 200 
killed and wounded, on their part. We had about 5 
killed, 10 wounded, and 4 prisoners, — the ballancc 
have been accounted for. 

* I was yesterday in Hampton with my troop, that 
place having been evacuated in the morning. — My 
blood ran cold at what I saw and heard. — Tears were 
shedding in every corner, — the infamous scoundrels, 
monsters, destroyed every thing, but the houses, and 
(my pen is almost unwilling to describe it,) the wo- 
men were ravished by those abandoned rtiffians. — Great 
God ! my dear friend, figure to yourself our Hamp- 
ton females, siezed, and treated with violence by 
those monsters, and not a solitary American present 
to avenge their wrongs ! ! But enough — I can say 
no more of this.' 

Certificate. The enemy robbed the Pulpit and 
Communion Table, in the Episcopal Church, of all 
•the trappings, &c. together with all the plate, al- 
though inscribed with the name of the Donor, and of 
^the parish to which they belonged. They committed 
uRape in many instances and murdered a sick man in 
his bed, and shot a ball through his wife's thigh ; they 
wantonly destroyed evei-y species of property that 



252 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

they had no use lor, and, in fact, even stripped the 
shut oft" the back of Gecif/e licpe^ sen'r. ahout 70 
years of iige, and took the shoes worn his feel, after 
pricki* g hini with the bavonet. 

JOHN WEST WOOD, Hampton. 

Murder of John B. Graves. — Mr. Graves was a 
member of the 2lid regt. Iniaiitry, and was wounded 
through the arm at the attack on Sacketl's Harbor in 
May, and was lemovedto Oswe*^o. When Osweg^o 
■was attacked, Graves liad so far recovered as to be 
able to load a. d fire — and stood his ground like a 
hero. tTutortunattly he was agam wounded, and 
carried to a log house with two others. Onr men 
shortly after retreated, and an English officer, 
a Lieuleuaiit, came to the d» or of the house, and pre- 
sented a fuzeeat him ; upon which Graves exclaimed 
* O niercy^ for heaven s sake y shnvme mercy; avnt 
shoot me ayain, J am bodiy irouuded/ The ofhcer 
cocked his piece, which was vMlInn its own length of 
Graves, weltering m his blood, aid with an infernal 
grin, said *i'li. shew yoi; mucy. goddamn 
you,' and immedalely discharged its (oittnts, a ball 
and three buckshot into his breast. This inhuman 
villain soon met his rew ard, for s( arrely had I e turn- 
ed his eyes from the object of Ins barbarity, \>liei he 
was shot through the brain, and led tiead aiiitosl with- 
in reach of Graves. 

SJiirmishivg at fort Georyc, U- Canada. 

On the 14ih of Aug. lSl-3, Gen. Prot lor attacked 
our ] ickets at day break ;■ — afti r a sLorl tr.^agtment 
in which the enemy had 15 killed, and one Capt. and 
several privates made prisontrs, onr iorce retired to 
the fort with the loss of 2 killed and seviial wounded, 

Ontht night of the 17th, onr troops and a few In- 
dians formed an ambuscade, about ^00 strong, inn- 
mediately in front of the Br tish camj — at ua\ light 
our Indians rose and ga^e Ihe war-hiroji, and the en- 
emy considering it a friejidly call, cauie forth, and 



i 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 253 

were within halt' rifle shot before they discovered the 
stratagem. Tiiey were met u.ion all Sides, and made 
but little resistaiice ; 7o beino^ killed the tirst shot, 
and the remainder, 16, surrendered as prisoners. 

Col. U'w*. Russelly of Yinrennes, with 573 men 
cluefly volunteers, from Kentucky and Ohio, march- 
eil from Villo .la on the ioth Jinie, for the purpose of 
relievinix tiie frontier inhabitanls of the savages. In 
marching througii their country four weeks they suc- 
ceeded in destroying sixteen of their villages, and a 
considerable quantity of corn, ^c. and returned with- 
out the loss of a single man, bringing in several pris- 
oners, and 10 horses which the I idians had pillaged 
a few days before oi the inhabitants. 

A Yankee trick. — On the 5th of July, 1813, Com. 
Lewis, commandant of the flotilla of Clun Boats at 
New- York, sent out the fishing smack Yankee from 
Musquito cove, for the purpose of taking by strata- 
gem, the sloop E igle, a tender to the Poictiers ot 74 
guns, which had been very troublesome to the fisher- 
men oft' Sandy Hook where they were cruising. A 
calf, a sheep, and a goose were purchased and secured 
on deck; and between 30 and 40 men, well armed 
with muskets, were secreted in the cabin and foie- 
peak of the smack. Thus prepared, with 3 men 
dressed in fishermen's clothes on deck, she put out to 
sea as if going on a fishing trip. The Eagle on per- 
ceiving the smack gave chase, and after coming up 
with her, seeing she had live stock on deck, ordered 
her to go down to the Commodore, about five miles 
distant. The helmsman cried * ave aye sir,' and ap- 
parently put up the heim for that purpose, which 
brought her alongside the Eagle, not more than three 
yards distant. The watch-word, Lawrnece^ was then 
given, when the armed men rushed from their hiding 
places and poured into her a volley of musketry, 
which struck her crew with dismay, and drove them 
all into the hold with such precipitancy, that they had 



/ 



254 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

not lime to strike their colors. The Eagle had oii 
board a 32 pound brass howitzer, loaded with shot ; 
but their surprise was so sudden that they had not 
time to fire it. The crew consisted of a master, one* 
midshipman, and 11 marines from the Poictiers. 
The prize arrived at Whitehall, amidst the shouts of 
thousands who were celebrating the 4th of July. 

CAPTURE OF THE BOXER. 

Lieut. M' Calif to the Secretary of the Navy. 
U. S.Briy Enterprize, Portland, 1th Sept. 1813. 

SIR — In consequence of the unfortunate death of 
Lieut, commandant William Burrows, late command- 
er of this vessel, it devolves on me to acquaint you with 
the result of the cruize. After sailing from Ports- 
mouth on the 1st inst, we steered to the eastward ; 
and on the morning of the 3d, off Wood Island, dis- 
covered a schooner, which we chased into this harbor, 
where we anchored. On the morning of the 4lh, 
weighed anchor and swept out, and continued our 
course to the eastward. Having received informa- 
tion of several privateers being off Manhagan, we 
stood for that place ; and on the following morning, 
in the bay near Penguin Point, discovered a brig get- 
ting under way, which appeared to be a vessel of war, 
and to which we irtmiediately gave chase. She fired 
several guns and stood for us, having four ensigns 
hoisted. After reconnoitering and discovering her 
force, and the nation to which she belonged, we haul- 
ed upon a wind to stand out of the bay, and at 3 
o'clock shortened sail, tacked to run down with an in- 
tention to bring her to close action. At twenty min- 
utes after 3 P. M. when within half pistol shot, the 
firing commenced from both, and after being warmly 
kept up, and with some manoeuvring, the enemy hail- 
ed and said they had surrendered, about 4 P. M.-** 
their colors being nailed to the masts, could not he 
hauled down. She proved to be his B. M. brig Box- 
er, of 14 guns, Samuel Blylhe, esq. commander, 
who fell in the early pait of the engagement, having 



r 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 2o5 

received a cannon shot through the body- And I am 
sorry to add that Lieut. Barrows, who had gallantly 
led us into action, fell also about the same time by a 
musket ball, which terminated his existance in eight 
hours. 

The Enterprize suffered much in spars and rigging, 
and the Boxer in spars, rigging and hull, having 
many shots between wind and water. 

As no muster roll that can be fully relied on has 
come into my possession, I cannot exactly state the 
number killed and wounded on board the Boxer, but 
from information received from the officers of that 
vessel, it appears there were between twenty and 
twenty-five killed, and fourteen wounded. Enclosed 
in a list of the killed, and wounded on board the En- 
terprze. I have the honor to be, &c. 

EDWARD R. M'CALL, Senior Officer. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed 4,— 'Wounded, 10,— total 14. 

BRITISH LOSS. 

Killed 25,— Wounded, 14,— total 39. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PERRY'S VICTORY. 

Com. Perry to the Secretary of the Navy. 
U.S. brig Niagara, Lake Ene,"Sept. 10, 1813. 
SIR — It has pleased the Almighty to give to the 
arms of the U. States a signal victory over their ene- 
mies on this lake. The British squadron consisting 
of 2 ships, 2 brigs, 1 schooner, and one sloop, have 
this moment surrendered to the force under my com« 
raand, after a sharp conflict. I have the honor to 
be, &c. O. H. PERRY. 



256 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Com. Perry to the Secretary of the Navy. ' • 
V\ S.sch. Ariel, Put-in-bay, Sept. 13, 1813. 
SIR — In my last 1 informed you that we had cap- 
tured the e;iemy*s fleet on this lake. I have now the 
honor to g-ive yon the most important particulars of 
the action. On the morning' of the 10th inst. at sun- 
rise, they were discovered from Pat-in-Bay, where I 
lay at anchor with the squadron under my command. 
We got under weigh, the wind light at S. W. and 
stood tbr them. At 10 A. M. the wind hauled to S. 
£. and brought us to windward ; formed the line and 
bore up. At 15 minutes before twelve, the enemy 
commenced firing ; at 5 minutes before twelve the 
action commenced on our part. Finding their tire 
very destructive, owing to their long guns, and its be- 
ing mostly directed at the Liwrence, I made sail, and 
directed the other vessels to follow for the purpose of 
closing with the enemy. Every brace and bowline 
beujg soon shot away, she became unmanageable, 
notwithstanding the great exertions of the sadmg- 
master. Ii this situation she sustained the action up- 
wards of two hours within canister distance, until eve- 
ry gun was rendered useless, and the greater part of 
her crew either killed or wounded. Finding she 
could no longer amioy the enemy, I left her in charge 
of Lieut. Yarnall, who, I was convinced from the 
bravery already displayed by him, would do what 
"wonld comport with the honor of the flag. At half 
past two, the wind springing up, Capt. Elliott, was 
enabled to bring his vessel, tlie Niagara, gallantly m- 
to close action ; I mimediately went on board of her, 
when he anticipated my wish by volunteering to bring 
the schooners which had been kepi astern by the light- 
ness of the wind, into close action. It was with un- 
speakable pain that 1 saw soon after I get on board 
the Niagara, the flag of the Lawrence comedown, 
although I was perfectly sensible that she had been 
defended to the last, and that to have continued to 
make a show of resistance would have been a wanton 
sacrifice of the remains of her brave crew. But the 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 257 

chemy wais not able to take possession of her, and 
circumstances soon permitted her flag again to be hoist- 
ed. At 45 minutes past 2 the signal was made for 
* close action.' The Niagara, being very little injur- 
ed, I determined to pass through the enemy's lines, 
bore up and passed ahead of their two ships and a 
brig, giving a raking fire to them from the starboard 
guns, and to a large schooner, and sloop, from the 
larboard side, at half pistol-shot distance. The smal- 
ler vessels at this time having got within grai^e and 
canister distance, under the direction of Capt. Elliott, 
and keeping up a well directed fire, the 2 ships, a brig, 
and a schooner, surrendered, a schooner and sloop, 
nlaking a vain attempt to escape. 

Those officers and men who were immediately un- 
der my observation evinced the greatest galla>itry, and 
I have no doubt that all others conducted themselves 
as hecame American officers and seamen. Lieut. 
Yarnall, first of the Lawrence, although several times 
wounded, refused to quit the deck. 

I have the honor to enclose you a return of the kil- 
led and wounded, together with a statement of the 
relative force of the squadrons. The Capt. and first 
Li'ut. of the Q,ueen Charlotte, and first Lieut, of the 
Detroit were killed — Capt. Barclay, senior officer, 
and (he commander of the Lady Prevost, severely 
wounded. Tne commanderof the Hunter and Chip- 
peway slightly wounded. Their loss in killed and 
wounded I have not been able to ascertain, it must 
however have been very great. 
Very respectfully. &c. 

O. H. PERRY. 

U. S. Schooner Ariel, Put-in-bay, Sept. 13, 1813. 
SIR — r have caused the prisoners taken on the 10th 
inst. to be landed at Sandusky, and have requested 
Gen. Harrison to have them marched to Chilicothe, 
and there wait until your pleasure shall be known re- 
specting them, 

33 



•^58 HISTORY OF THE WAll. 

The Lawrence has been so entirely cut up, it is 
absolutely necessary she should go into a safe harbor; 
I have therefore directed Lieut. Yarnall to proceed 
to Erie in her, with the wounded of the fleet, and dis- 
mantle and get her over the bar as soon as possible. 

The two ships in a heavy sea this day at anchor 
lost their masts, being- much injured in the action. 
I shall haul them into the inner bay at this place and 
moor them for the present. The Detroit is a re- 
n'jarkably fine ship, sails well, and is very strongly 
built. The Q;Ueen Charlotte is a much superior ves->. 
sel to what has been represented.. The Lady Prevosfc 
is a large fine schooner. 

I also beg your instructions respecting the wound^; 
eA. I am satisfied, sir, that whatever steps I might 
take governed by humanity, would meet your appro- 
bation. Under this impression, I have taken upon 
myself to promise Capt. Barclay, who is very danger- 
ously wounded, that he shall be landed as near lake 
Ontario as possible, and I had no doubt you would 
allow me to parole him. He is under the impression 
that nothing but leaving this part of the country will 
save his life. There is also a number of Canadians 
among the prisoners, many who have families. 
I have the honor to be, &c. 

O. H. PERRY. 

Statement of the force of the American sqtiadron 
Lawrence 20 guns— Niagara 20 — Caledonia 3 — 
Ariel 4 — Scorpion 2 — Somers 4 — Trippe 1 — 
Tigress 1 — Porcupine 1 total 54 guns. 

Statement of the force of the British squadron. 
Detroit 21 guns— Q,ueen Charlotte 18 — Lady Pre- 
vost 14— Hunter 10 — Little Belt 3 — Chippeway 3 — 
ti>lal G3 guns. 

The exact number of the enemy's force has not 
been ascertained, but 1 have good reason to believf! 
that it exceeded ours by nearly 100 men. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 250 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed on board the LavAi-ence, 22, Wounded 61. 
lVia|rara 2 ; Wounded 25 — Calledonia Wounded 3; 
Somers 2 wounded — Ariel Kil'ed 1, V¥oun<led 3. — 
Trippe wounded 2 — iscorpiou Killed 2 — total killed 
and wounded 123. 

CAPTURE OF THE DOMINICO. 
Capt. John H. Dent to tha Secretary of the Navy. 

Charleston, Auo^. 21, 1813. 
[Extravt^ I have the honor to inform you thai the 
privateer schooner Decatin", of this port, arrived here 
yesterday, with H. B. xM. schooner Dominico, her 
pri'^e. 

She was captured on the 15th inst. after a most 
gallant and desperate action of one hour, and carried 
by boarding-, having all her officers killed or wound- 
ed except one midshipman. The Dominico mounts* 
15 guns, one a 32 pounder on a pivot, and had a com- 
plement of 88 men at the commencement of the action, 
60 of whom were killed or wounded. 

She was one of the best equipped and manned 
vessels of her class I have ever seen. The Decatur 
mounts 7 guns, and had a complement of 103 men at 
the commencement of die action, nineteen of whom 
were killed and wounded. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOHN H. DENT. 
Killed on board the Decatur 5 — wounded 15. 
Killed on board the Dominico 18 — wounded 42. 

CAPTURE OF MALDEN. 

Gen. Harrison to the Secretary of War. 
Head-Quarters Amhersthurg, Sept. 23, 1813. 
SIR— I have the honor to inform you that I landed 
the army under my command about 3 miles below 
this place at 3 o'clock this evennig, withoutopposilion, 
and took possession of the town in an hour after. 
Gen. Proctor has retreated to Sandwich with his reg-- 
ular troops and Indians, having previously burned 
the fort, navy yard, barracks and public store houses j 



16© HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

the two latter were very extensive, covering several 
acres of ground. I will pursue \he eneni} to-morrow, 
although there is no probability of my overtaking him 
as be has upwards of one thousand horses, and we 
liave not one in the army. I shidl think myself fortu- 
'nate to be able to collect a sufficiency to mount the 
General officers. It is su|)posed here that Gen. Proc- 
tor intends to establish himself upon the river French, 
forty miles from Maiden. I have the honor, xc. 
WILLIAM H. HARRISON, 

HARRISON'S VICTORY. 

Gen. Harrison to the Secretary of War. 

Head-Quarters, Detroit, Oct. 9, 1813. 

SIR — In my letter from Sandwich of the 30lh ul- 
timo, I did myself the honorto inform you, that I was 
preparing- to pursue the enemy the following day. 
From various causes, however I was unable to put the 
troops m motion until the morning of the2dinst. and 
then to take with me only about one hundred and for- 
ty ot the re^-ular troops, Johnson's mounted regiment 
and such of Governor Shelby's volunteers as were tit 
for a rapid march, the whole amounting to about 
three thousand five hundred men. ToGen.M'Ar- 
thur (with about 700 effectives) the protecting of this 
place and the sick was committed. Gen. Cass's brig- 
afle, and the corps of Lieut. Col. Bali were left at 
Sandwich, with orders to follow me as soon as the 
men received their knapsacks and blankets, which 
had been left on an island in Lake Erie. 

The unavoidable delay at Sandwich was attended 
•with no disadvantage to us. Gen. Proctor had post- 
ed himself at Dalson's on the right bank of the Thames 
(or Trench) tilty six miles from this place, where I 
\*as informed he intended to fortify and wait to re- 
ce.ve me. He must have believed, however, that I 
had no disposition to follow him, or that he had se- 
cured my continuance here, by the reports that were 
circulated that the Inoians would attack and destroy 
tjiis place upon the advance of the army ; as he neg- 



HISTORY OP THE WAK. * 261' 

lected to commence the breaking up the bridg-es until 
the uight of the 2d irist. On that night our army 
reached the rivers uhich is twenty-iive miles from 
Sandwich and is one of 4 streams crossing" our route, 
over all of which are bridges, and being deep and 
muddy, are unfordable for a consideroble distance 
into the country — the bridge here was found entire, 
and in the morning I proceeded with Johnson's regi- 
ment to save if possible the otjiers. At the second 
bridge over a branch of the river Thames, we were 
fortunate enouofh to capture a Lieut, of drasfoons and 
eleven privates, who had been sent by Gen. Proctor 
to destroy them. From the prisoners I learned that 
the third bridge was broken up and that the eiiemy 
had no certam information of our advance. The 
bridge having been imperfectly destroyed, was soou 
re(»aired and the army encamped at Drake's farm, 
fourmiles below Dalson's. 

The river Thames, along the banks of which our 
route lay, is a fine deep stream, navigable for vessels 
of CO siderable burden, after the passage of the bar 
at its mouth over which, there is six and a half feet 
water. 

The baggage of the army was brought from De- 
troit in boats protected by three gun-boats, which 
Com. Perry had furnished for the purpose, as well as 
to cover the passage of the army over the Thames it- 
self, or the moullis of its tributary streams; the banks 
beiiig low and the country generally open (praaries) 
as high as Dalson's, these vessels were well calculat- 
ed for that purpose. Above Dalson's however, the 
character of the river and adjacent country is consid- 
erably changed. — The former, though still deep, is 
very narrow and its banks h gh and woody. The 
Commodore as id myself therefore agreed upon the 
propriety of leaving the boats under a guard of one 
nu.idred a id fifty infaiitry, and I determined to trust 
to fortune and the bravery of my troops to effect the 
passage of the r ver. Be-low a place called Chatham 
and 4 mdes above Dalson's is the third unfordable 



362 HISTORY OF THE WAB. 

branch of the Thames; the bridge over its mouth 
had been taken up by the Indians, as well as that at 
M'Gregor's Mills, one mile above— several hundred of 
the Indians remained to dispute our passage, and upon 
the arrival of the advanced guard, commenced a hea- 
vy fire from the opposite bank of the creek as well as 
that of the river. Believeing that the whole force of the 
enemy was there, I halted the army, formed in order 
of battle, and brought up our two six pounders to cover 
the party that were ordered to repair the bridge— a few 
shot from those pieces, soon drove oflF the Indians 
and enabled us, in two hours to repair the bridge and 
cross the troops. Col. Johnson's mounted regiment 
bemg upon the right of the army, had seized upon the 
remains of the bridge at the mills under a heavy fire 
from the Indians. Our loss on this occasion, was 
two killed and three or four wounded, that of the ene- 
my was ascertained to be considerably greater. A 
house near the bridge containing a very considerable 
number of muskets had been set on fire — but it was 
extmguished by our troops and the arms saved. At 
the first farm above the bridge, we found one of the 
enemy's vessels on fire, loaded with arms and ord- 
nance stores, and learned that they were a few miles 
ahead of us, still on the right bank of the river with 
the great body of the Indians. At Bowles' farm^ 
four miles from the brdge we haulted for the night, 
found two other vessels and a large distillery filled 
with ordnance and other valuable stores to an im- 
mence amount in flames — it was impossible to put 
out the fire — two twenty-four pounders with their car- 
riages were taken and a large quantity of ball and 
shells of various sizes. The army was put in motion 
early on the morning of the 5th, I pushed on in advance 
with the mounted regiment and requested Governor 
Shelby to follow as expeditiously as possible with the 
infantry, the Governor's zeal and that of his men en- 
abled them to keep up with the cavalry, and, by 9 
o'clock, we were at Arnold's Mills having taken in 
the course of the morning two gun-boats and several 
batteaux loaded with provisions and ammunition. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

A rapid at the river at Arnold's mills affords the on- 
ly fording to be met with for a considerable distance, 
but, npon examination, it was found too deep for the 
infantry. IJavmg, however, fortunately taken two 
or three boats and some Indian canoes on the spot, 
and oblig"ed the horsemen to take a foot-man behind 
each, the whole were safely crossed by 12 o'clock. 
Eight miles from the crossing we passed a farm, 
where a part of the British troops had encamped the 
night before, under the command of Col. VVarburton. 
The detachment with Gen. Proctor had arrived the 
day before at the Moravian towns, 4 miles highei-up. 
Being now certainly near the enemy, I directed the 
advance of Johnson's regiment to accelerate their 
march for the purpose of procuring intelligence. 
The officer commanding it, in a short time, sent toin- 
form me, that, his progress was stopped by the enemy, 
who were formed across our line of march. One of 
the enemy's waggoners being also taken prisoner, from 
the information received from him, and my own ob- 
servation, assisted by some of my officers, I soon as- 
certained enough of their position and order of battle, 
to determine that, which it was proper for me to adopt. 

1 have the honor herewith to enclose you my gene- 
ral order of the -iTlh ult. prescribing the order of 
march, and of battle when the whole army should act 
together. But as the number and description of the 
troops had been essentially changed, since the issuing 
of the order, it became necessary lo make a corres- 
ponding alteration in their disposition. From the 
place where our army was last halted, to the Moravian 
towns a distance of about three and a half miles, the 
road passes through a beach forest without any clear- 
ing, and for the first tvio miles near to the bank of the 
river. At from two to 300 yards from the river, u 
swamp extends parallel to it,* throughout the whole 
distance. The intermediate ground is dry, and al- 
though the trees are tolerably thick, it is in many pla- 
ces clear of underbrush. Across this strip of land, its 
left appayed upon the river, supported by artillerv 



264 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

placed in the wood, their right in the swamp covered 
hy the whole of the Indian force, the British troops 
were drawn np. 

The troops at my disposal consisted of about 129 
regulars of the 27th reg"t. five bng-ades of Kentucky 
volunteer miHtia infantry, under his Excellency Gov. 
Shelby, averaging less than five hundred men, and 
Col. Johnson's regiment oi mounted Infantry, making 
in the whole an aggr«^gale someihuig about 3000. 
No disposition of an aiinv opposed to an Indian force 
can be safe unhss it is secur-d o; the flanks and in 
the rear. I had therefore no tiifficnlty in arranging 
the Infantry conlormnbly to my general order of bat- 
tle. Gen. Trotter's brigade ot 500 men, formed the 
front line, his right upon the road and his left upon the 
swamp. Gen King's brigade as a second line, 150 
yards in the rear of Trotter's, and Chiles' brigade as a 
corps of reserve in the rear of it. These three brig- 
ades formed the command of Major-General Henry ; 
the whole of Gen. Desha's divison, consistiiig ottwo 
brigades, were formed en potence upon tlie left of 
Trotter. 

Whilst I was engaged in forming the Infantry, I 
had directed Col. Johnson's regiment, which was still 
in front, to be formed in two lines oi)posite to the en- 
emy, and upon the advance of the Infantry, to take 
ground to the left, and forming upon that flank to en- 
deavor to turn the right of the Indians. A moment's 
reflection, however, convinced me that from the thick- 
ness of the woods andswampness of the ground, they 
would be unable to do any thing on horseback, and 
there was no time to dismount them and place their 
horses in security. I therefore determined to refuse 
my left to the Indians, and to break the British lines 
at once by a charge of the mounted Infantry ; the 
measure was not sanctioned by any thing I had e\er 
seen or heard of, but 1 vi? as fully convinced that it 
would succeed. The American back woodsmen 
ride better in the woods than any oiiier people. A 
musket or rifle is no impediment to them, being ac- 



JHTSTORY OF THE WAR. 266 

mstomed to tliem from their earliest youth. I was 
pers laded, too, that the enemy would be quite uupret- 
pared for the shock, and that they could not resist it. 
Conformable to ihis idea, I directed the regiment to 
be drawn ap in close column, with its right at the disi- 
tance of 50 yards from the road, (that it might be, in 
some measure, protected by the trees from the artil- 
lery) its left upon the swamp, and to charge at full 
«peed as soon as the enemy had delivered their fire. 
The few regular troops of the 27th regiment, under 
C»>l. Paul, occupied in a column of sections of four, 
the sm ill space between the road and the river, for 
the purpose of seizing the enemy's artillery, and some 
ten or twelve friendly [ndians to move under the bank. 
The crotchet formed by the front line and Gen. De- 
sha's division, was an important point. At that place 
the venerable Governor of Kentucky was posted, who 
at the age of sixty-six preserves all the vigor of youth, 
the ardent zeal which distinguished him in the revo- 
lutionary war, and the undau.iled bravery which he 
manifested at King's mountain. With my aids de 
Camp, the acting assistant A. Ij. General, Capt. Butler, 
my gallant friei>d Com. Perry, who did me the honor 
to serve as my volunteer aid de camp, and Brig. 
Gen. Cass, who having no command, tendered me 
his assistance, 1 placed myself at the head of the front 
line of Infantry, to direct the movements of the cav- 
alry, and give them the necessary support. 

The army had moved on in tliis order but a short 
distance, when the mounted men received the tire of 
the British line, and were ordered to charge , the 
horses in the front of the column recoiled from the 
fire; another was given by the enemy, and our col- 
umn at length getting in motion, broke ihiongh the 
enemy with irresistable force. In one uunute the 
contest in front was over: the British officers seeing 
no hope oi reducnig their disordered ranks to order, 
and our mounted men wiieeiingupon them and pour- 
ing in a destriictive hre, immediately suirenden d. 
It IS certain thai three only of oar troops were wouiid- 
34 



2G6 HISTORY OP THE WAK. 

ed in this charge. Upon the left however, the coi> 
test was more severe with the Iiidians. Col. John- 
son, who commanded on that flank of his regiment, 
received a most galling fire from them, which was 
returned with great effect. The Indians still further 
to the right advanced and fell in with our front line 
of Infantry, near its junction with Desha's division, 
and for a moment made an impression upon it. His 
Excellency Gov. Shelby, however, brought up a regi- 
ment to its support, and the enemy receivi? g a severe 
fire in front, and a part of Johnson's regiment having 
gained their rear, retreated with precipitation. Their 
loss was very considerable in the action, and many 
were killed in their retreat 

In can give no satisfactory information of the num- 
ber ot Indians that were in the action, but they must 
have been considerably upwards of 1000. From the 
documents in my possession, (Gen. Proctor's official 
letters, all ^f which were taken) and from the infor- 
mation of respectable inhabitants of this Territory, the 
Indians kept in pay by the British were much more 
numerous than has been generally supposed. In a 
letter to Gen. de Rottenburgh, of the.27th ult. Gen. 
Proctor speaks of having prevailed upon 3,200 of the 
Indians to accompany him. 01 these it is certain that 
60 or 60 Wyandot warriors abandoned him. 

The number of our troo[>s were certainly greater 
than that of the enemy, but when it is recollected, that 
they had taken a position that effectually secured their 
flank, which it was impossible for us to turn, and that 
we could not present to them a line more extended 
than their own, it will not be considered arrogant to 
claim for my troops the palm of superior bravery. 

In communicating to the President through you, sir, 
my opinion of the conduct of the officers who served un- 
der me, I am at a loss how to mention that of Gov. 
Shelby, being convinced that no eulogium of mine can 
reach his merits. The Governor of an independent 
state, greatly my superior in years, experience, and 
in military chaiacter, he placed himself under my 



HISTORY OF TH'E WAR. 267 

command, and was not more remarkable for his zeal 
and activity, than for the promptituoe and cheerful- 
ness with which he obeyed uiy orders. 

I left the army before an othcial return of the pris- 
oners, or that of ihe killed and wounded, was made 
out. It was however ascertained that the former 
amounts to 600 reg^ulars, including- 2-3 othcers. Our 
loss is 7 killed and 22 wounded, o of which have 
since died. Of llie British 12 killed, and 22 wound- 
ed. The Indians suffered most, 100 of ihem having 
been found upon the ground, including- those killed on 
the retreat. 

On the day of the action, 6 pieces of brass arlillery 
were taken, and two iron 24 pounders the day before. 
Several others were discovered m the river and can be 
easily procured. Of the brass pieces, three are the 
trophies of our revolutionary war, that were taken at 
Saratoga and York, and surrendred by General Hull.. 
I have the honor to be, S.c. 

WILLIAM H. HAKllISON. 

The fruits of Gen. Harrison's victory, independent 
of the great advantages obtained, are of the British re- 
gular army, 609 non-commissioned officers and pri- 
vates, 2 Colonels, 4 Majors, and 19 officers of the line, 
prisoners ; and 12 pieces of cannon, 6000 stands of 
arms, 5 Gun-Boats, and ammunition and stores to 
the amount of 1,000,000 of Dollars ! ! 

SPEECH OF TECCJMSEH.* 
In the name of the Indian chiefs and narriorsj to 

Maj. Gen. Proctor ^ as the representative oj their 

great father — the king. 

Father, listen to your children ! You have them 
now all before you. 

The war before this, our British father gave the 
hatchet to his red children, when our chiefs were alive. 

' Tecumseh was killed at the battle of the Moravian tonrns. 



2t)^ HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

They are now dead. In that war, our father was' 
thrown on his back by the Americans, and our father 
took them by the hand without our ki'owledge ; and 
"vte are afraid that our father will do so again at this 
time. 

Bummer before last, when I came forward with 
my red brethren, and was ready to take u[) the hatchet- 
in favor of our British father, we were told not to be 
in a hurry, that he had not yet determined to fight the 
Americans. 

Listen I — When war was declared, our father stood 
lip and gave us the tomahawk, and told us that he 
was then ready to strike the Americans ; that he 
•wanted our assistance ; and that he would certainly 
get us our lands back, which the Americans had ta» 
ken from us. 

Listen ! — You told us, at that time, to bring for* 
ward our families to this place ; and we did so ; aiid 
you promised to take care ot them, and that the} should 
want for nothing, while the men would go and fight 
the enemy. That we need not trouble oursdves 
ftl)out the enemy's garrison ; that we knew nothing 
about them, and that our father would attend to that 
part of the business. You also told your red children, 
that you would take good care ot your garrison here^ 
which made our hearts glad. 

Listen ! — When we were last at the Rapids, it is 
true we gave \ou little assistance. It is hard to fight, 
people who live like ground hogs. 

Father, listen ! Our fleet baN gone out ; we know 
they have fought ; we have heard the great gui.s : 
but know nothing of what has hap}>ened to our father, 
with one arm. Owr ships have gone one way, and 
we are much astonished to see our father tyn.g up 
every thing and preparing to run away the other^ 
without letting his red children know what his inten- 
tions are. You always told us to remain here and 
take care of our lands ; it made our hearts glad to hear 
that was your wish. Our grt at father, the kii.g, is our 
head, and you represent hmi. You always told us. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 260 

that you would never draw your foot oft' British ground; 
but now, father, we see you are drawing back, and 
we are sorry to see our father doingso without seenig 
the enemy. We must conipare our father's conduct 
to a fat a. lima!, that carries its tail upoii its back, but 
when aftriglited, he drops it between his legs and 
runs off. 

Listtriy Father f The Americans have not yet de- 
feated us by land ; neither are we sure that they have 
done so by water: we therefore, wish to remain here, 
and fight our enemy, if they should make their ap- 
pearance. If they defeat us, we will then retreat with 
our father. 

At the battle of the Ripids last war, the Ameri- 
cans certainly defeated us ; and when we retreated to 
our father's fort at that place the gates were shut against 
us. We were afraid that it would now be thecase ; but 
instead of that we now see our British father preparing" 
to march out of his garrison. 

leather ! You. have got the arms and ammunition 
which our great father sent for his red children. If 
you have an idea of going away, give them to us, and' 
youmaygoand welcome, for us. Our lives are in the 
hands of the Great Spirit. We are determined to de- 
fend our lands, and if it be his will we wish to leave 
our bones upon them. 

Amherstburg, ISept. 18, 1813. 

Com. Chauncey to the Secretary of the Navy. 
U.S. snip Gen. Pike, Sackett's Harbor, Oct. 6, 1818. 
SIR, — I h.ive the pleasure to intV rm you, that I ar- 
rived here this morning, with tive of the enemy's ves- 
sels, which I fell in with and captured last evening off 
'the Dicks. They were part of a fleet of seven sail 
wuich ieft York on Sunday with 234 troops on boanl, 
bound to Kingston. Of this Beet five were captured, 
one burnt, and one escaped ; the prisoners, amount- 
ing to nearly 300, bes.des, having upwards ot 300 of 
our troops on board from Niagara, induced me to 
run into port for the purpose ot landing both. 



270 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

I have an additional pleasure in informing" you, that 
amongst the captured vessels are the late U. S. sch$. 
Julia and Growler, the others are gun vessels. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

ISAAC CHAUNCEY. 

jReturn of the troops of H. B. M's. De Watte- 
ville r eff intent f captured in the above vessels. 
1 Major, 1 Captain, 3 subalterns, 1 surgeon, 10 
sergeants, 4 drummers and buglers, 202 rank and 
file. 

Oncers and marines. — 1 Lieut. 2 master's mates, 
35 seamen and marines of the royal navy, and 4 sail- 
ing" masters of the provincial navy. 

J. GIBSON, Inspector Gen. 

Something Singular. — About the 1st of Oct. 1813, 
Capt. Morgan, of the rifle corps was sent from Sacketts 
Harbor, to Gravelly Point, near Kingston, for the 
purpose of taking possession of the Point. Seeing an 
English schr. gun boat, he concealed his men, about 
60, and sent a small boat along the shore, which the 
enemy espied, and started in pursuit of. When 
the enemy came near, our men landed, and took to 
the woods ; the enemy came near shore, and sent a 
pa ty after the fugitives, when Morgan's campany 
rushed from their hiding place, and gave them so 
warm a reception, as either to kill or wound every one, 
as they appeared on deck ; a few of our men waded 
out and look possession of the gunboat, while those on 
shore stood ready to fire at the tirst man who made ap- 
pearance on deck. We did not lose a man in this gal- 
lant little exploit ; the enemy Jost 3 killed — 7 wound- 
ed, and 50 prisoners. 

Com. RodgerSf Sailed from Boston the 23d of 
April, 1813, and returned to Newport, Sept. 26. — 
After crossing the seas in almost every direction, 
cruising for some time in the British channel, and on 
the coast of Norway, without seeing a public vessel, 



ttlSTORY OF THE WAR. 271 

of the enemy's, excepting a 74, and frigate in company, 
which chased him three days, often so near ast(J»give, 
and receive a shot, the Cora, returned to port, to re- 
cruit his stores. 

The President, captured the following' vessels on 
her cruise. — Brig Kitty, of 2 guns, and 12 men, car- 
ofo of codfish; sent into France. Packet Briir Duke 
of Montrose, of 12 guns, and 31 men ; sent to Eng- 
land as a cartel, with 78 prisoners. Letter of Marque 
Brig Maria, of 14 guns, and 35 men ; cargo of cod- 
fish, sent into France. Schr. Falcon, of 2 guns, and 
11 men, cargo of codfish, sent into France. Brig 
Jean, burnt. Brig Daphne, of 2 guns, and 10 men; 
sunk. Ship Eliza Swan, of 8 guns, and 49 men ; 
cargo of blubber od; ransomed for oOOO pounds ster- 
ling. Brig Albert, cargo of pitch and tar, burnt. 
Barque Lion, of 8 guns, and 53 men ; cargo of blub- 
ber oil, ransomed for 3000 pounds sterling. Brig 
Shannon, cargo of rum, sugar, and molasses, sent into 
the U. S. Brig Fly, of 6 guns, and 10 men ', cargo of 
coffee, sent into the U. S His B. M's Schr. High Fly- 
er, of 5 guns, 5 officers, and 34 men, brought into 
Newport ; the High Flyer was sold at auction for 
eleven thouand Dollars. ' 

Col. Clarke to the Secretary of [Far. 

Camp Chazey-Landing, Oct. 15, 1813. 
It is with great pleasure I can inform you ofasuc- 
cessful attack upon the enemy at Massesqtioi bay on 
the morning of the I2lh inst. At this time I had only 
the riflemen with me, the artillery moving slow and 
the militia protecting their rear. We proceeded 16 
the village (Massesquoi) and arrived within 15 rods 
of the enemy before we were discovered. We found 
them drawn up under Major Powell in a manner that 
would have annoyed us much had we attack- 
ed them by water, but wholly unprepared to defend 
themselves on the land side ; Li.ey commenced a fire 
on the left flank, but in te.i minuses after the first at- 
tack they laid down their arms and surrendered them- 
selves prisoners of war. 



272 HISTORY OF THE WA«. 

Understanding that a force of 200 m6n under C6l« 
LocbM^as marching' to attack us, 1 despatched Capt 
Finch with his company to reconnoitre them and as* 
certam their course. He proceeded with such prompU 
ncss and ability as to surprise and capture the advanc- 
ed guard, consisting of cavalrv, excepting one man 
who escaped, and giving the mformation the enemy 
retreated. 

The prisoners were then put on board our boats 
and sent to Burlington. Our whole force engaged 
was 102 — the number of prisoners taken is 101 ; their 
killed 9, and wound'^d 14. 

1 aai, sir, with respect, &c. 

ISAAC CLARKE. 

Massacre at fort Tensaw. — The following partic- 
ulars of the massacre at fort Tensaw, is received from 
Judge Toulmiu of Mobile. 

* The dread ul catastrophe which we have beea 
sometime expecting, has at length taken place ; the 
Indians have broken in upon us in numbers and fury 
unexampled. A few days before the attack, (Sept. 1) 
some negroes of Mr. Girt's who lived inthat part ol the 
Creek territory which is inhabited by half breeds* 
had been sent up the Alabama to his plantation for 
corn ; three of them were taken by a party of Indians. 
One escaped and brought down news of the approach 
of the Indians. The officer gave but little credit to 
him, but they made some further preparation to re- 
ceive the enemy, and on Saturday and Sunday con* 
siderable work was doae to puttlie fort in a state of 
defence. Sunday morning thrte negroes were sent 
out to attend the cattle, who soon returned with an 
account that they had seen 20 Indians. — Scouts were 
sent out to ascertain the truth of the report ; they re- 
turned and declared they could see no signs of 
Indians. One of the negroes belonging to Mr. Ran- 
don was whipped for bringing what they deemed a 
false report. — He was sent out again on Monday, 
and saw a body of Indians approaching ; but atraid 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 273^ 

of being whipped, he did not return to Mims's, but to 
Pierce's fort ; but before his story could be coaimu- 
nicated, the attack was made. The commanding; 
officer called upon Mr. Fletcher, who owned another 
of the nei^roes, to whip him also. — He believed the 
boy, and resisted two or three applications; but at 
length they had him actually brought out for the pur- 
pose, when the Indians appeared m view of the fort. 
The gate was open. The ladians had to come 
through an open tieid 150 yards wide, before they 
could reach the fort, and yet they were withui -30 
steps of the fort at 11 in the morning, before they 
were noticed. The sentry then gave the cry o. * In- 
dians!' and they immediately set up a most terrible 
war-hoop and rnshetl into the gate with inconceivable 
rapidity, and got within it before the people of the 
fort had any opportunity of shutting it. This decid- 
ed their fate. Major Beasely was shot through the 
belly near the gate. 

There was a large body of Indians, though they 
probably did not exceed 400. Our people seemed 
to sustain the attack with undaunted spirit. They 
took possession of the port holes in the other lines of 
the fort and tireil on the Indians who remai.jed m the 
field. Some of the Indians got upon ihe block house 
at one of the corners; but after tin g a good deal 
down upon the people they were 'dislodged. They 
succeeded however in settinof fif-eto a house near the 
pickets, from which it was communicated to the 
kitchen and from thence to the mam dwelling house. 
They attempted to do it by burning arrows, but failed. 
When the people in the tort saw the Indians retained 
full possession of the outer court, that the gate con- 
tinued open, that theirmen fell very fast, and that their 
houses were in Hames, they began to despond. Some 
determined to cut their way throu.h the pickets and 
escape. Of the whole number of white men and half- 
breeds in the fort, it is supposed that not more thau 
25 or 30 escaped, and of these many were wounded. 
The rest and almost all the women and chddren tell 

a6 



27i IIJ'STORY OF THE WAB. 

a saciitice either to the arms of the Indians or to the 
flames. The battle lasted about live hours and a half. 

When the buildings were burning" and the few who 
remained we're exposed to the heavy fire of the ene. 
my, they collected as many as they could of the guns 
of the deceased, and threw both them and the remain- 
ing stock of ammunition into the flames, to prevent 
their becoming- sul)servient in the hands of the In- 
dians, to the destruction of their fellow citizens. 
Surely this was an instance of determined resolution 
and benevolent foresight of which there are not many 
examples. 

Notwithstanding the bravery of our fellow citizens, 
the Indians carried all before them, and murdered 
the armed and the helpless without discrimination. 
Our loss is 7 commissioned officers, and about 100 
non-commissioned officers and privates, of the first 
regiment of Mississippi Territory volunteers. There 
were about 24 families of men, women and children 
in the fort, of whom almost alMiave perished, amount- 
ing to about KiO souls. I reckon, however, among 
them about six families of half-breeds, and 7 Indians. 
There were also about 100 negroes, of whom a large 
proportion were killed. 

By William Henry Harrison, Mo;'. Gen. in ihe ser- 
vice of the U. S. commander in chief of ihe north- 
iveslern arm?/, ^H^rOliver Hazard Perry, Capt. in 
ihe Navyyand commanding the U. S. vessels on Lake 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, by the combnied operations of the land 
and naval forces under our command, those of the 
enemy within the upper district of Upper Canada 
have been captured or destroyed and the said district 
is now in the quiet possession of our troops : it be- 
co(Ties necessary to provide for its government:-^ 
Therefore, we do hereby proclaim and make known, 
that the rights and privileges of the inhabitants, and 
the laws and customs of the country, as they existed 
or were in force at the period of our arrival, shall con- 



WISTOI^y OF THE WAR. 2/5 

tinue to prevail. All magistrates and other civil offi- 
cers are to resume the exercise of their functions ; 
previously taking an oath to be faithful to the govern- 
ment of the U. States, as long as they shall be in pos- 
session of the country. The authority of all militia 
commissions is suspended in said district, and the offi- 
cers required to give their parole, in such way as the 
officer, who may be appointed by the commanding 
Gen. to administer the government, shall direct. 

The inhabitants of said district are promised pro- 
tection to their persons and property, with the excep- 
tion of those cases embraced by the proclamation of 
Gen. yVocfor, of the — ult. which is declared to be in 
force, ar.d the powers therein assumed transfered to 
the officer appointed to administer the government. 

Given under our hands and seals, at Sandwich, 
this 17th Oct. 1813. 

(Signed; WiM. H. HARRISON. 

OLIVER H. PERRY. 

Gens. Wilkinson and Hampton. — These two Gen- 
erals made an attempt to take Montreal about the 1st 
of Nov. 1813. Gen. Hampton was stationed at 
Piattsburgh, and was to meet Gen. Wilkinson at 
French Mills ; having succeeded in marching 
through the forest 24 miles in one day, by way of 
Chatauguay, and entering upon the second large 
forest, Ins guides left hmi, which occasioned the army 
to halt for three or four days; in the mean time our 
troops attempted the enemy's breast work, thrown up 
in the woods by falling trees, digging ditches, &c. and 
succeeded in cotnpletely driving him from his posi- 
tion ; — a party sent round to intercept their retreat 
was met by one of considerable force and oblfged to 
retire. — Here some misunderstanding took place be- 
tween the two Generals on account of the place of 
meeting; which, finally contributed largely to the 
overthrow of the expedition. Hampton immediately 
ordered his men back to winter quarters. In this 
farce we lost 34 men killed and missing. — Gen Wil- 



276 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

kinson was stationed at Sarkett's Harbor, and con- 
veyed his army flown the St. Lawrence in boats» 
The enemy about 2000, from Presrott, Kmg-ston, &c. 
hung- on his rear, and harrassed him continually. 
They an'ived at Williamsburg- the 11th of Nov. and 
was obliged io face about and attack the enemy to 
save their bag-o^age. The forces were about equally 
slronsr, having- from 12 to I'OO men eng-aged ; each 
gave way by turns — our men getting out of ammuni- 
tion, left the field of action unmolested, and passed 
down the slreig-hts, without seeing the enemy again. 
We lost in this battle 102 non-commissioned officers 
and privates killed, and 237 officers and privates 
•wounded, with one field piece and several stand of 
arms: 3 officers and 2<S privates of the wounded were 
taken prisoners. At Cornwall Gen. Wilkinson first 
received intellig-ence of the different route General. 
Hampton had taken; a council of General officers 
xvas held, and it was agreed best to abandon the ex- 
pedition. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed 102— wounded 237— missing 31— total 370. 

BRITISH LOhS. 

Killed 210 — wounded 248 — prisoners 17 — total 475 



CHAPTER X. 

CREEK W^AR. 

Gen. Jackson to Gov. Blount. 
Cinip at Ten Islands, JNov.4th, 1813. 
SIR — W'e have retaliated for the destruction 
of Fort Mims. On the 2d instant, I <letached 
Gen. Coffee with a part of his brigade of cavalry and 
mounted riflemen, to destroy Tallushatches, where a 
considerable force of the hostile (Veekswere concen- 
traled. The Gen. executed this in stile. A hun- 
dred and eighty-six of the enemy were found dead on 
the field, and about eighty taken prisoners , forty of 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 277; 

■whoTTihave been broug^bt bere. In Ibe number left, 
tbere is a sufficiency butsbgblly wounded to take care 
of ibose who are badly. 

I herein enclose Gen. Coffee's official report of the 
action. 

I have the honor to be, 'vcc. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 

Gen. Coffee to Gen. Jackson. 
Camp at 'I en Islands^ Nov. Aihy 1813. 
SIR, — I had the honor yesterday, of transmitting* 
you a short account of an engagement that took place 
between a detachment of about nine hundred men 
from my brigade, with the enemy at T^llushatches 
towns ; the particulars whereof I beg leave herein to 
recite to you. Pursuant to your order of the 2d, I 
detailed from my brigade of cavalry and mounted ri- 
flemen, nine hundred men and officers, and proceeded 
directly to the Tallushatches towns, crossnig Coosey, 
river at the Fish Dam ford, 3 or 4 miles above this 
place. I arrived within one and a half miles of the 
town (distant from this place south-east eight miles) 
on the morning of the third, at which place I divided 
my detachment into two columns the right composed 
of the cavalry commanded by Col. Allcorn, to cross 
over a large creek that lay between us and the towns, 
the left column was of the mounted riflemen, under 
the command o{ Col, Cannon, with whom I marched 
myself. Col. Allcorn was ordered to march up on 
the right and encircle one one half of the town, and 
at the same time the left would form a half circle on 
the left, and unite the head of the colums in front of 
the town ; all of which was performed as I could 
wish. When I arrived in half a mile of the towns, 
the drums of the enemy began to beat, mingled with 
their savage yells, preparing for action. It was af- 
ter sun- rise an hour ; when the action was brought 
on by Capt. Hammond and Lieut. Patterson's com- 
panies, who had gone on within the circle of align- 
ment for the purpose of drawing out the enemy from 



:278 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

their buildiug^s, which had the most happy effects. 
As soon as Capt. Hammond exhibited his front in 
viewof the town, (which stood in open woodlaHd) 
ind gave a few scattering shot, the enemy formed and 
made a violent charge on him ; he gave way as they 
advanced, until they met our right column ; which 
gave them a general fire and then charged ; this 
changed the direction of charge compleleiy ; the 
enemy retreated, firing, until they got around and in 
their buildings, where they made all the resistance 
that an overpowered soldier could do ; they fought as 
long as one existed, but their destruction was very 
soon completed ; our men rushed up to the doors of 
the houses, and in a few minutes killed the last war^ 
riorofthem ; the enemy fought with savage fury, and 
met death with all its horrors, without shrinking or 
complaining, not one asked to be spared, but fought 
so long as they could stand or sit. In consequence 
of their flying to their houses and mixing with the 
families, our men in killing the males, wilhont inten- 
tion, killed and wounded a few squaws and ( hildren, 
"which was regretted by every officer and soldier of 
the detachment, but which could not be avoided. 

The number of the enemy killed was one hundred 
and eighty-six that were counted, and a number of oth- 
ers that were killed in the weeds not found. I think 
the calculation a reasonable one, to say two hundred of 
them were killed, and eighty-four prisoners of women 
and children, were taken ; not one of the warriors 
escaped to carry the news, a circumstance unknown 
heretofore. 

I lost five men killed and forty-one wounded, none 
mortally, the greater part slightly, a number with 
arrows; two of the men kilted was with arrows ; this 
appears to form a very principal part of enemy's arms 
for warfare ; every man having a bow with a bundle 
of arrows, which is used after the first fire with the 
gun, until a leisure time for loading ofi'ers. 

I have U»e honor to be, .Stc. 

Ji\'0 COFFEE. 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 27& 

Gen. Jackson to Gov. Blount. 
Camp Ten Islands of Cossa, Nov. 11, 1813. 

[Extract.] SIR — I am just returned from an ex- 
cursion which I took a few days ago, and hasten t6 
acquaint you with the result. 

Late on the evening of the 7th inst. a runner ar- 
rived from the friendly party in Lashley's fort, (Tale- 
dega) distant about thirty miles below us, with the 
information that the hostile Creeks, in great force had 
encamped near the place, and were prepanng to de- 
stroy it ; and earnestly entreated that I would lose no 
time in affording relief. Urged by their situation as 
well as by a wish to meet the enemy so soon as an 
ojiportunity would oft'er, I determined upon com- 
mencing my march thither with all my disposable 
force; we encamped that night within six miles of 
the fort 1 had set out to relieve. At sun rise we 
came within half a mile of them, and having formed 
my men, I moved on in battle order. The infantry 
were in three lines — the militia on the left and the 
volunteers on the right. Tiie cavalry formed the ex- 
treme wings ; and were ordered to advance in a 
curvey keeping their rear connected with the advance 
of their infantry lines, and to enclose the eneiny in a 
circle. The advanced guard whom I sent forward 
to bring on the engagement, met the attack of the 
enemy with great intrepidity ; and having poured 
upon them four or live very gallant rounds, fell back 
as they had been previously ordered, to the main army. 
The enemy pursued and the front line was now or- 
dered to advance and meet him ; the tire became 
general along the first line, and on that part of the 
wings which were contiguous. The enemy, unable 
to stand it, began to retreat; but were met at every 
turn, and pursued in every direction. The nght u ing 
chased tliem with a most destructive fire to the moun- 
tains, a distance of about 3 miles ; the victory howev- 
er was very decisive — 290 of the eneniv were lefi; 
dead ; and there can be no dou!)t but many more 
were killed who were not found. Wherever tbev ran 



280 HISTORY OB' THK VVAli. 

Ihey left traces of blood; and it is believed that f elpy 
few will return to their villages in as sound a condi- 
tion as they left them. I was compelled to return to 
this place to protect the sick and wounded, and get 
my baogjjge. In the engagement we lost 15 killed 
and 15 wounded, 2 of whom have smce died. 
In haste, I have the honor to be, S;:c. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 

Gen. White to Major-Gen. Cocke. 

Fort-Armstrong, Nov. 24, 1813. 
[Extract.'] SIR — In mine of the 19th inst. b} Ma- 
jor Outlaw, I promised you a tietai led report, respect- 
ing the detachment ordered by you to the Hillibee 
towns, in the Creek nation. In compliance with that 
promise, 1 have now the honor to state— that under \our 
order of the 11th inst, I immediately marched with 
the mounted infantry, under the immediate command 
of Col. Burch. The cavalry under the command of 
Major Porter, and a few of the Cherokee Indians un- 
der the command of Col. Morgan, with very short 
rations for four days only. After destroying two vil- 
lages containing 12-3 houses, we marched to the 
Hillibee town, consisting of about 20 houses, 
adjoining which was Grayson's farm. — Previous 
to oiir arrival at that place, 1 was advised thiit a 
part of the hostile Creeks were assembled there. 
Having marched within six or seven miles of it on the 
17th, I dismounted a part of the force under m^ com- 
mand, and sent them under the eommanil of Col. 
Burch, with the Cherokees under the command of 
Col. Morgan, in advance, to surround the town in the 
Jiijiht, and make the attack at day lii>ht on the IHdi. 
Owing to the darkness of the night, t; etown was not 
reached until after day light — but so complete wus 
the surprise, that we succeeded in surrounding the 
town, and killing and capturmg almost (if not en- 
tirisly) the whole of the hostile Creeks assembled tuere. 
consislinof of about 310, of which number aboul CJO 
warriors were killed on the spot, and the remainder 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 281 

made prisoners. We lost not one drop of blood in 
accomplishing this enterprize. We destroyed this 
village ; and, in obedience to your orders, commenc- 
ed onr march for this post, which we were unable 
to reach until yesterday, 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

JAMES WHITE, Brig. Gen. 

Gen. Floyd to Gen. Pinhiey. 

Catahouche, Dec. 4, 1813. 

\Extracl.^ PIR — I have the honor to communicate 
to you an account of the action fought on the 29th 
ult. between part of the force under my command, 
and a large body of the Creek Indians. Having re- 
ceived information that the hostile Indians were as- 
-sembled at Autossee, 1 proceeded thither with the 
force under my command, accompanied by about 300 
friendly Indians, We encamped the 28th, at night, 
within ten miles of our place of destination, and the 
next morning by half past 6, were formed for action m 
front of the town. 

It was my intention to have completely surround- 
■ed the enemy, by appayiny the right of my force on 
Canlehee creek, at the mouth of which I was inform- 
ed the town stood ; and resting the left on the river 
below the town ; but to our surprise, as day dawned, 
we [>erceived a second town «500 yards below Autos- 
see. The plan of attack was immediately changed ; 
five companies immediately surrounded the lower 
town, and the remainder attacked the upper. The 
battle now became general. The Indians presented 
themselves at every point, and fought with the despe- 
jrate bravery of real fanatics ; but the well directed 
^re of the artillery, with the charged bayonet, soon 
-forced them to take shelter in their houses, and many, 
*it is believed, secured themselves in caves previously 
prepared in the high bank of the river. The friendly 
Indians were to cross the river above the town, for 
the purpose of taking such as might attempt to es- 
cape; but owing to the coldiiess of the water, they 
36 



2^2 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

declined, after making the attenipt: they crossed ihi^ 
creek, thronged to our fianks, and fought with an in- 
trepidity wortl»y of any troops. At 9 o'clock, tb« 
eneni}« was completely driven from the plain, and the 
houses of both towns wrapped in dames, to ihe num- 
ber of about 4t0. It IS difficult to determine the 
strength of the enemy, but the chiefs say there were 
as>^embled the warriors of eight towns, for the defence 
of Autossee,. it being their beloved ground, on which, 
they proclaimed, no white man could approach with- 
out inevitable destruction. It is believed the enemy 
lost at least, 200 killed, (among whom are the Autos- 
see andTvdlissee kings) and from the circumstance 
of their not making an effort to molest our return, 
probably they lost more. Our loss was 11 killed and 
54 wounded. — The friendly Indians lost several killed 
and wounded ; the number not exactly known. 
I have the honor to be, &c. 

JOHN FLOYD, Brig. Gen. 

Gen, Claiborne J to ihe Secretary of War. 

Fort Claiborne, Jan. 1st, 1814. 
[Extract'] SIR— On the 13lh ult. 1 marched a detach- 
ment from rhis post with a view of destroying th« 
towns of the inimical Creek Indians, on the Alabama, 
above the the mouth of the Cahaba. After having 
marched about eighty miles, from the best infor- 
mation I could obtain, I was within thirty miles of a 
town newly erected on aground called Holy, occupi- 
ed by a large body of the enemy, mider the command 
of Wilherford, the half breed chief. On the morni 
ing of the 22d the troops resumed their line ot march, 
chiefly through woods without a track to guide them. 
W hen near the town on the morning of the 23d, my 
dispositon tor attack was made. — The troops advan- 
ced in three coUuiiiiS. With the centre column I ad^ 
Tanced myself, ordering Lester's guards and Well's 
troop of dragoons to act as a corps of reserve. About 
noon the right coiumn, composed of twelve month's 
volunteers, commanded by Col. Joseph Carson, came 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

in tiew of the town called Eccanachaca (or Holy. 
Ground) and was immediately vigorously attacked 
by the enemy, who were apprized of our approach, and 
had chosen their field of action. 

Before the centre, commanded by Lieut. Col. Rus-^ 
sell, with a part of the3dreg-iment of U. S. infantry 
and mounted militia riflemen, or the left column, 
which was comnosed of militia and a party of Choc-, 
taws under Pushamuttaha, commanded by Maj, 
Smoot oTmilitia, who were ordered to charge, could 
come generaly into action, the enemy were repulsed 
and were flying' in all directions, and many of them- 
castin^away their arms. 

Thirty of the enemy were killed, and judj^ing' from 
every appearance many were wounded. Tiie loss on 
our part was one corporal killed, and one ensig-n,twp 
Serjeants, one corporal, and two privates wounded. 

A pursuit was immediately ordered but from J he 
nature of the country, nothinof was efiecled. The 
town was nearly surrounded by swamps and deep 
ravines, which rendered our approach difficult, and 
facilitated the escape of llie enemy- In the town we 
found a large quantity of provisions and immense 
property of various kinds, which the enemy, flying 
precipitately, were obliged to leave behind, and which* 
tog-ether with two hundred houses were destroyed 

The ne\t day was occupied in destroying a tuwo 
consisting of sixty houses, eight miles higher up the 
river, and in taking and destroying the e.iemy's boats. 
At the town last destroyed was killed three Indians 
of some distinction. 

I have the honor to l>e, &c. 

FERD. L. CLAIBORNE. Brig. Gei. 

Gen. Fhyd to Major Gen. Pinckney. 
SJExtract] Camp Defiance, Jan. 27, 1814. 

SIR — I have the honor to acquaint your excellen- 
cy that this morning at 20 minutes past 5 o'clock, a 
very large body of hostile Indians made a desperate 
attack upon the army under nay command. They 
stole upon the ceuiinels, fired on them, and with great 



284 HISTORY OF THE WAR, 

impetuosity rushed upon our line : in 20 minutes the 
action became ja;-ener;il, and our front, right and left 
flanks were closeiy pressed, but the brave and g-a lant 
conduct of the tield and line officers, and the firmness 
of the men, rej)eiled them at every point. 

The steady firmness, and mcessant fire of Capt. 
Thomas's aitdiers, and Capt Adams' rifiemen, pre^^ 
strved our front hues. Tiie enemy rushed withm 30 
yards of the artillery, and Capt. Brodnax, uho coni- 
nmnded one of the picquet guards, maintamed his 
post with great bravtry, until the enemy gained his 
rear, and then cut his way through them to the army. 
^s soon as it became light enough to distinguish ob- 
jects, I ordered Majors Watson's and Freman's bat- 
tallions to v\heei up at right angles with Majors 
Booth's and Cleveland's battallions, who foinieo the 
right wing, to prepare for the clrnrge. The onier lor 
the charge was [>romptly obeyed, and the eiient} fled 
in every direction before the ba} onet. The signal was 
given for the charge of the cavalry, who pursued and 
sabred 15 of the enemy, who left 37 dead on the field. 
From the effusion of blood, and the number of head 
dressesand war clubs found in var ous directions, their 
loss must have been considerable, independent of their 
wounded. 

1 herewith transmit you a list of our killed and 
wounded, and have the honor to l)e, Sac. 

JOHN FLOYD, Brig. Gen. 

f Killed, 17— wounded, 132— total 149. 

Gen. Jackson to Gen. Pinkney. 

Fort !*trolher, Jan. 29, 1814. 
[Extract.^ SIR — I had oi-iiered 800 'i'ennessee 
volunteers to join me on the 10th inst. but they did 
not arrive until the 1 4th ; the next day they, with the; 
force before with me, 130, marched across the river 
to graze our horses. The motives which influenced 
Jiie to penetrate further into the enemy's country were 
many and urgent. I received a letter from Colonel 
Snodgrass, informing me that an attack was soon tp 



HISTORY OF TETE WAR. 2SS ' 

be made on fort Armstrong, by 900 of th<3 enemy, 
collected fro ii New Y >uka, Oakfuskee, and Ufauley ' 
tovv.js, and werecouneuirated in the bend of the Tal- ' 
lajioosee. Ii 1 couhJ have hesitated before, I could 
now hesitate no lon;^er. On the lUth I encamped 
at Entochapco ; here I soon perceived how little 
knowledg-e my spies had of the country, of the situa- 
tion of the enemy, or of the distance we were from 
them, and the insu!)ordinatioii of the new troops, and 
want ol' skill in their otficers, became more apparent ; 
but my wishes and my duty rema ned united. 

We arrived within a few miles of our destination 
the 21st, and encamped on a high piece of grou.id ; 
about 10 o'clock at night our picket tired upon a few 
of the enemy, and killed one. At 11 o'clock our 
spies returned with imormation that a large body of - 
the enemy were encamped about three miles distant, 
peing prepared at all points, nothing remained to be 
done, but await their approach, or be in readiness to 
attack them by day light. The enemy attacked our 
left tlank, about 6 o'clock in the m(>riiing, which was- 
vigorously met by our troops ; the attack lasted half 
an hour. So soon as it became light enough to pur- 
sue the enemy, the brave Gen. Cotfee led our troops 
on to the charge; the enemy was comi)letely routed 
at every point, and chased two miles with great slaugh- 
ter. Gen. Coffee was now sent with 400 troops to re- 
connoitre the enemy's camp, who returned after sat- 
isfying himself of their strength. In half an hour a 
considerable force of the enemy made its aj)pearance 
on my right flank, and attacked us with great spirit. 
Gen. Coffee requested 200 men of me for the purpose 
of turning their left flank, which was granted ; but 
by some mistake, not observed at the time, only 54 
followed him, who were chiefly old volunteer officers. 
With this little band of heroes, the Gen. attacked it, 
and drove them from the ground; at the same time 
200 friendly Indians were ordered to fall upon their 
right, and co-operute with the General. Tins order 
was soon obeyed, and in its execution* what I expect- 



iiSO lUSTORY OP THE WAR. 

e<^, was realized. The enemy intended the attack 
on my right as a feint, and soon attacked my left 
with their main force, which they hoped to find weak- 
ened and in disorder— -they were disappointed — the. 
whole line met the attack with firmness and astonishri 
ing intrepidity, and having given a few fires chargecj * 
with great vigor; the effect was immediate and in- • 
evitabie. The enemy fled with precipitation, and 
■were pursued to a considerable distance with great 
slaughter. In the mean time Gen. Coft'ee was con- 
tending with a superior force, the Indians haying 
joined my left. Jim Fife, with 100 friendly Indians 
I forthwith ordered to his assistance ; he no sooner 
reached the spot than the Gen. made a charge, and 
the enemy routed and driven three miles, with thelos^ 
of 45 slain. I was determined to commence a return- 
ing march the next morning, as my provisions were 
nearly consumed. I considered it not necessary to 
pursue them any farther, as the object of a general . 
engagement would be more certamly attained by 
commencing a return, which, to them, would have 
the appearance of a retreat, and would inspire them-^ 
with new courage to pursue me ; and not prudenti«: 
because of my wounded, the starving condition of 
my horses, they not having neither eat corn nor cane 
for two days, and of the scarcity of provisions for my 
men — influenced by these considerations, I commenc- 
ed my return march on the 23d and reached Etiota- 
ehopcQ that night. I took a different route from the 
one we came in, to avoid a deep defile between two 
mountains. Having a deep creek to pass I issued a 
general order pointing out the manner in which the 
men should be formed, in, case of an attack. 'Ihe 
front guard and the wounded had crossed, when an 
alarm gun was heard in the rear. I heard it without 
surprise, and even with pleasure, as 1 calculated OQ 
the firmness of my troops, from the manner i>i which 
I had seen them act onth©'22d. Having chosen the 
ground, I expected to have entirely cut oft" the ene- 
my, by wheeling the right and left columns on their 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 287 

pivots, recrossing the creek above and below, and fal- 
ling- npon their flanks and rear. But to my astonish- 
ment, after a few guns had been fired, I beheld the 
right and left columns of the rear guard give way. 
This shameful retreat was disastrous in the extreme ; 
drawing with it the greater part of the centre column, 
and producing consternation and dismay in ihe whole 
army. There was left to oppose the enemy a few of 
the rear guard, the artillery, and Capt. Ilussell's com- 
pany of spies : they realized aiid exceeded my best 
expectations. Never was there more bravery dis- 
played than on this occasion. Amidst the most gal- 
ling fire from the enemy, more than ten times their 
number, they ascended the hill. In the hurry of the 
moment, in separating the gun from the limbers, the 
rammer and picker were left tied to it. No sooner 
was this discovered than Craven Jackson, and Con- 
stantine Perkins, gunners, found means to replace 
them ; Jackson amidst the galling fire of the enemy, 
pulled out the ramrod of his musket, used it as a pick- 
er, primed with a cartridge, and fired the cannon. 
Perkins having taken off his bayonet, used his gun 
as a rammer, and Jackson using his former plan, again 
discharged her. Lieut. Armstrong soon fell, and 
exclaimed as he lay, ' my brave fellows ^ some of you 
may Jail, but you must save the cannon.^ At this time a 
number crossed the creek, and entered into the chase, 
when they were pursued more than two miles, fleeing 
in consternation, throwing away their packs, and left 
26 of their warriors dead on the field. This last de- 
feat was decisive. In these three engagements our 
loss was 20 killed and 7-3 wounded. The loss of the 
enemy cannot be exactly ascertained ; 189 of their 
warriors were found dead ; but this must fall consid- 
erably short of the number killed ; their wounded can 
only be guessed at. 

I am, sir, with sentiments of respect, Sec. 

ANDREW JACKSON, Major Gen. 



288 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Ge)i. Jackson to (fov. Hhunt. 

Foil Williams, Marrli 31st, 1R14. 

[Kr/rac/] SIK — I liiive just relumed from the ex- 
petlilioii which I advised you in my hist I was about 
to make to the Tallapoosee ; and hasten to acquaint 
yon with the good fortune w hich attended it. 

I took up the line of march from this place on the 
niorning^ of the *2 1st inst. and having- opened .1 passage 
of 52 1-2 miles over the ridges which divide the wa- 
ters of the two rivers, I reached the bend of the Talla- 
poosee, three miles beyond where I had the engage* 
meiit of the 2"2d of Jan. and at the southern extremi- 
ly of New-Youka, on tlie morning of the 27lh. This 
bend resembles in its curvature that of a horse shoe, 
and is thence called by that name among the whites. 
Nature furni>hes few situations so eligible for defence, 
and barbarians have never renden^d one more secui*e 
by art. A cross the neck of the bend which leads into it 
from the north, they had erected a breastwork ot the 
greatest compactness and strength, from live to eight 
teet high, and prepared with double port holes very 
arlbillv arranged. Tlse figure ot this wall manifisted 
no less skill in the projection of it, than ils construc- 
tion ; an army could not approach it without being^ 
ex; osetl to a double and cross tire from tlie enemy, w ho 
la> in perfect sccuril> behind it. 

In this bend the warriors from Oakfusky, Oakeha- 
o^u, New Youka, Hilnbee, the Fish Ponds, and Eu- 
faula towns, apprised of our approach, had collected 
tlieir strength. Their exact number cannot be as- 
certained ; but it is said by the prisoners we have tak- 
en to h.i>e been a thousand. 

Early on the morning of the 27th, having encampH 
ed the preceding night at the distance ot live miles 
from them — 1 detailed Gen. Cotiee w ilh the mounted 
men and nearly the whole of the Indian force, to 
cross the river at a ford about 3 miles below their en** 
campinent, and {o surround the bend in such a man- 
ner that none of them should escape by altrmpting to 
cross tlie river. With the remainder of the forces t 



HISTORY OF THE WAH. 289 

proceeded slowly and in onler, along- the point of 
land which led lo th<' front ot'their breast work ; hav- 
intr planted my cannon (one six and one three ponn- 
der) on an eminenrt' at the distance of 150 or 200 
yards from it, I opened a very hnsk fire, playing up* 
on the enenriy with the muskets and nfles whenever 
they shevved themselves l»eyonrl it; this was kc; t up, 
with short interruptions, for ahout two hours, when a 
part of the Indian force, and Capt. Kussell's and 
Lieut. Bean's companies of sjnes, whi> had accom- 
panied Gen. Coffee, cr<»ssed over in canoes Jo the 
extremity of the hend, and set tire to the huildinirs 
■which were there situated; they then advanced wilh 
great gallantry towards the breast work, ai d com- 
menced a spiiiled fire upon the enemy b»-hnid it. 

Finding that this force, notwithslandni^j the bravery 
they displaced, was whollv insufficient lo dislodge 
them, and that Gen. Coffee had entirely secured tlje 
opposite bank of the river, I now determined to take 
their works by storm. The men by ^hoin this was 
to 1)6 eff*ected had been waiting with impatience to re- 
ceive their order, and hailed it with acclamation. 

The spirit which animated them was a sure augury 
of the success which was lo follow. The hislorv of 
warfare furnishes finv instances of a more brilliant 
attack — the regulars led on by their intrepid and skil- 
ful commander. Col. Williams, and by the gallant 
Major Montgomery, soon gamed possession of the 
works in the midst of a most tremendous fire from 
behind them, and the mihtia of the venerable Gen. 
Doherty's brigade, accompanied them in the charge, 
with a vivacity and firmness that would have done 
honor to regulars. Tlie enemy were comjiletely rout- 
ed. Five hundred and fiity-seven were Jeftdtadon 
the peninsula.* 

The fighting continued with some severity about 
five hours, but we continued to destroy many of them 

* Gen. Coffee in his account to Gen. Jackson, say 9, there were 
not le^s than 250 killetJ, in atieniijimii to cross the river, which 
«uok, aod were nut includeil in tiie above. 



i90 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

who had concealed themselves under the banks of the 
river until we were prevented by the night. This 
mornins: we killed 16 which had been concealed.— -i 
We took 250 prisoners, all women and children ex- 
cept two or three. Our loss is 106 wounded, and 26 
killed. Major M'Intosh (the Cowetan) who joined 
my army with part of his tribe, greatly distinguished 
himself. 

According to my original purpose, I commenced 

my return march for fort Williams to-day, and shall, 

if I find supplies there, hasten to the Hickory ground. 

The power of the Creeks is, I think, for ever broken. 

I have th.e honor to be, ^c. 

ANDREW JACKSON, Maj. Gen. 



CHAPTER XI. 

CAPT. PORTER'S CRUISE. 

Capt. Porter to the Secretary of the Navy. 
U. S. Frigate Essex, Pacific Ocean, July 2d, 1813. 

SIR — On the 23d March last, 1 sailed shapping 
my course to the northward, and on the 26th of the 
same month, fell in with the Peruvian corsair ship 
^ereyda, mounting 15 guns : she had a few days be- 
fore, captured two American whale ships, the crews 
of which (amounting in number to 24 men) were 
then detained prisoners on board her ; and they assign 
no other motive for the capture, than that they were 
the allies of G. Britain, and as such, should capture 
all American vessels they could fall in with ; there- 
fore, to prevent in future such vexatious proceedings, 
I threw all her armament into the sea, liberated the 
Ameiicans, and dismissed the Nereyda. 

I then proceeded with all possible dispatch for Li- 
ma, to intercept one of the detained vessels, which had 
parted with the Nereyda only three days before, and 
I was so fortunate as to arrive there and recapture her 
on the 5th April, at the moment she was entering the 
port. This vessel (the ship Barclay, Capt, Gideon 



HISTORY OF THE V> AR. 291 

Randall, of New Bedford,) I look undenny protection* 
and liave had her with me ever since. 

From Lima, J proceeded for the Gahipagos 
Island where I captured the f'ollowin«r British Letters ot 
marque ships. 

Montezuma, — 2 guns, 21 men — Policy, 10 guns, 
26 men — Georgiana, guns, 25 men — Atlantic, 8 
guns, 24 men — Greenwich, 10 guns, 2omen. 

The Georgiana i)enig reputed a very fast sailer, and 
apparently well calculated for a cruiser, 1 mounted 
16 guns on her and gave the command of her to that 
excellent officer, Lieut. John Downes, with a com- 
plement of 42 men. 

Lieut. Downes joined me at Tumbez, near Guiaquil, 
on the coast of Peru, on the 24th June, after captur- 
ing three Letter of INIarque ships. 

Hector, 11 guns 2.> men — Catharine, 8 gims, 29 
men — Rose, 8 gun, ^1 men. 

The first had two men killed and six badly wound- 
ed in her rencontre with the Georgiana — and I have 
found by experience that the Georgiana did not de- 
serve the character jjiven of her for sailinuf. I there- 
fore shipped her officers and crew to the Atlantic, 
and mounted on her 20 guns, with a complement of 
60 men, and appointed midshipman Rich. Dashiell, 
acting sailing master, on board her; to this vessel! 
gave the name of Essex Junior. I also fitted up the 
ship Greenwich as a store ship, and mounted on her 
20 guns, placing her under the command of Lieut. 
Gamble, of the marines. On board her I have put 
all the provisions and stores of my other prizes, ex- 
cept a supply of three and a half months for each, and 
have by this means secured myself a full supply of 
every necessary article for seven months. I had hoped 
to dispose of my other prizes at Guiaquil : the Govs, 
in Peru, however, are excessively alarmed at my iei^- 
pearance on the coast, as my fleet amounts now tb 
nine sail of vessels, all formidable in their appearance, 
and they woidd if they dare, treat us with a hostility 
little short of declared enemies. 



29^ HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Indeed, sir, when I compare n»y present situation 
with what it was when I doubled Cape Horn, 1 can-^ 
not but esteem myself fortunate in an extraordinary 
degrte. Tiiere my ship was shattered by tempestu- 
ous weather, and destitute of every thing* ; my offit? 
cers aid crew half starved, naked, and worn out with 
fatigue. Now, sir, my ship is in prime order, abuiw 
dantly supplied wilh ever> thing necessary for her. I 
have a noble ship for a consort of 20 guns, and well 
Tuanned, a store shij) 0120 guns, and well supplied 
with the best of every thuig that we may want, and 
prizes which would be worth in England two millions 
of dollars: and what renders the comparison more 
pleasing, the enemy has furnisi ed all. 

The times of my best men have expired ; but their 
attachment to the ship and their zeal for the service 
we are engaged on, prevent all complaints on that 
account. Itis not prol>ablethat you will hear of me 
forseveral months to come, u <less some disaster hap- 
pens ; but 1 beg leave to assure you, sir, that I shaU 
not be idle. 

I have the honor to bp, &c. 

D.PORTER. 

Loss of Fort iViflyjfrtra.— Gen. M'Ciure, al)Out the first 
of Dec. 1813, abandoned fort George, in Canada, and 
l>urnt the town pf Newark, adjoining it, as a ni'asnre, 
he says, to prevent the enemy's occUj»ying tort George, 
after he had left it. On the l8tii of the saue month 
the British crossed to Lewistown, in considerable 
force, and burnt it to the ground; when tiieir riWes 
were set at liberty, and indulged freely in the)r brutal 
excesses, in murdering our detenceless citi/ens ; they 
then attacked and burnt iVIanchesler, a; id Tn-scarora, 
the latter an fiidian town, in the mta)» tune llie Bri- 
tish attacked iort Niagara, and took it by storm, at 4 
o'c.ock on the morning of the l9Lh ; tl«e gate being- 
o en, after they had surprised the picket thes entered 
befoie they were discovered, when a scene of terrible 
slaugiiter took place. They were not opposed by 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 293 

any* except a few wounded men in the southeast block 
house, and a few of tlie i^uard, but, strang-e as it may 
appear, the e.temy bayouelted about 80 of our men, 
chiefly after they had cried for quarters. The pre- 
ceeding facts were sworn to before a justice, by Robert 
Lee, a gentleman of Lewistown, who was in the fort 
lyhen taken. 

Burnimj of Hnffaloc and Black Rock. — Soon after 
the storming of fort Niagara, and the burnmig of Lew- 
istown, N:c. JVlaj. Gen. Hall repaired to the frontiers, 
for the purj)ose of collecting- a force, (mdilia) suffi- 
cient to defend Buffaloe and Black Rock. From the 
22d, Dec to the 29tti, Gen. Hall had collected about 
2000 troops, militia and exem;»ts, but was reduced to 
1200 by desertions, on the morning oi the battle ol the 
30th. In the evening of the 29lh (says Gen. Hall, m 
a letter of the 30th Dec. to Gov. Tompkins,^ atabout 
l2 o'clock, 1 received information that one of ourpa- 
troles had been fired on, one mile below Black Ruck. 
The enemy advanced and took possessioii of the bat- 
tery near Conjokaties creek. The troops were imme- 
diately formed, and stood by their arms. 1 was not 
yet certain what point the enemy meant to attack. 
Being" anxious to anticipate the enemy's landing, to 
meet him at the water's edge, I gave orders for the 
troops at the Rock, to attack the enemy, and dislodge 
them from ihe battery, and to drive them their boats. 
The attempt failed through the confusion into which the 
militia were thrown, on the first fire of the enemy, and 
the darkness of the night. I then ordered corps un- 
der Major Adams, and Col. Chapin, to make the at- 
tack. These three detachments were thrown into 
confusion, and were of no service afterwards. As the 
day dawned, 1 discovered a detachment ofthe enemy's 
boats crossing to our shore, and bending their course 
towards the rear of Gen. Porter's house. 1 immedi-r 
ately ordered Col. Biakeslie to attack the enemy's 
force at the water's edjje. I now became satisfied as 
to the disposition and object of the enemy. Their 
jeft wing composed of about 1000 regulars, militia, 



2Q4 HISTORY OF THE AVAR. 

and Indians, had been landed below the creek, under 
cover of the night. With their centre consisting of 
400 royal Scotts, commanded by Col. Gordon, the 
battle was commenced. Their right which was pur- 
posely weak, was landed near the main battery, mere- 
ly to divert our force, the whole under the immediate 
command of Lieut. Gen. Drummond and led on by 
Maj. Gen. Riall. They were attacked by four 
field pieces in the battery and at the water's edge ; 
at the same time the batteiy from the other side of the 
river opened a heavy lire upon us, of shells, hot shot, 
and ball. The whole force now opposed to the enemy 
was at most, not over 600 men, the remainder having 
fled, in spite of the exertions of their officers. These 
few, but brave men, disputed every inch of ground, 
with the steady coolness of veterans, at the expence of 
many valuable lives. The defection of the militia, 
and the reserve, and loss of the services of the cavalry, 
by reason of the ground on which they must act, left the 
forces engaged, exposed to the enemy's fire in front 
and flank. After standing their ground for half an 
hour, opposed by an overwhelming force and nearly 
surrounded, a retreat became necessary to |,heir safety, 
and was accordingly ordered. I then made every ef- 
fort to rally the troops, with a view to attack their 
columns as they entered the village of Buff'aloe ; 
but all in vain. Deserted by my principal force I fell 
back that night to Eleven Mile creek, and was forced 
to leave the flourishing vdlages of Black Rock and 
Bufl'aloe a prey to the enemy, which they have pillag- 
ed and laid in ashes. They have gained but little 
plunder from the public stores ; the chief loss has fal- 
len upon individuals.' 

Our loss was oO killed, — 40 wounded,-: — and 69 
prisoners, and one cannon. ' I regret to add, (says 
Gen. Hall, to Gov. Tompkijis, in his letter of Jan. 16) 
that on repossessing the battle ground, we collect- 
ed 50 dead bodies, yet unburied, of the battle of the 
30th uit. The enemy admit their loss, to be, in killed 
and wounded, 300.' 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. '2^5 

Col. Butler to Gen. Harrison. 

Detroit, March 7, 1814. 

[^Extract] SIR — By Lieut. Shannon, of the 27th 
regiment, U. S. infantry, I have the honor of inform- 
ing you, that a tietachment of the troops under my 
command, led by Capt. Holmes of the 24th regiment, 
U. S. infantry, have obtained asignal victory over the 
enemy. 

The affair look place on the 4th inst. about 100 
miles from this place, on the river De Trench. Our 
force consisted of no more than 160 rangers and 
mounted infantry. The enemy, had from their own 
acknowledgment 236. The fine light company 
of the roy-al Scots is totally destroyed ; they led the 
attack most gallantly, and their commander fell with- 
in ten paces of our front line. The light company of 
the 89th has also suffered severely ; one officer of that 
company fell, one is a prisoner, and another is said to 
l>e badly wounded. In killed, and wounded, and pri- 
soners, the enemy lost about 80 — whilst on our part 
there were but four killed and four wounded. This 
great disparity in the loss on each side, is to be attri- 
buted to be very judicious position occupied by Capt. 
Holmes, who compelled the enemy to attack him at 
great disadvantage ; this, even more than his gallantry, 
merits the laurel. 

We took one hundred head of cattle also from the 
enemy, intended for Long Point or Burlington. 

H.BUTLER, Lieut. Col. 

WARRINGTON'S VICTORY. 

Capt. Warrimjton to the Secretary of the Navy. 

U.S. sloop Peacock, at sea, April 29th, 1814. 

[Extract^^ SIR — I have the honor to inform you, 
that we have this morning captured, after an action of 
42 minutes, his Majesty's brig Eperviei', rating and 
mounting 18 32 pound caironades, with 128 men, of 
whom 11 were kiled and 15 wounded. Not amavv 
in the Peacock was killed and only two wounded, 
neither dangerously so. The fate of the Epervier 
Avould have been determined in mnch h^ss time, h\\\ 



306 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

for the circumstances of our fore-yard being totally 
disabled by two round shot in the starboard quarter 
from her first broadside, which entirely deprived us of 
the use of our fore and fore-top-sails, and coaipelled us 
to keep the ship large througliout the remainder of the 
action. 

This, with a few top-mast and top-gallant-back 
stays cut away, a few shot through our sails, is the on- 
ly injury iJie Peacock has sustained. Not a round 
shot touched our hull ; our masts and spars are as 
sound as ever. When the enemy struck, he had five 
feet water in his hold, his main-top-mast was over the 
side, his main boom shot away, his fore-mast cut near- 
ly in two and tottering, his fore rigging ai.d stays shot 
away, his bowsprit badly wounded, and 45 shot holes 
in his hull, 20 of which were within a foot of his water 
line. By great exertion, we got her in sailing order 
just as the dark came on. 

In 15 minutes after the enemy struck, the Peacock 
was ready for another action, in every respect but her 
fore-yard^ which was sent down, finished, and had the 
fore-sail set again m 46 minutes — such was the spirit 
and activity oi our gallant crew. Tlie Epervier had un- 
der her convoy an English hermaphrodite brig, a 
Russian and a Spanish ship, which all hauled tlieir 
wind and stood to the E. N. E. I had determined 
upon pursuing the former, but found that it would not 
answer to leave our prize in her then crippled state; and 
the more particularly so, as we found she had ;^1 20,000 
in specie, which we soon transferred to this sloop. 
Every officer, seamen and marine did his duty, which 
IS the highest comj»leinentl can pay them. 

I have the honor to be,8cc. 

L.WARRINGTON. 

Lieut. Woolsey to Com. Chaunceij. 

Sackett's Harbor, June 1, 1811. 
[Extract.'] SIR — I had the honor to receive per 
express your communication of the 27th, vesting in 
me discretionary powers. I immediately despatched 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 29T 

Mr. Dixon in the long- gig-, to reconnoitre the coast. 
I we »t with my officers to the falls, to run the boats 
down over the rapjcls. At sun set we arrived at Os- 
wego with the boats (19 in nnraher) loaded hi all 
with 21 long" 32 pounders, ten 21 pounders, three 42 
do. (carronades) and 10 cables, besides some light 
articles, and distributed in the batteaux a guard of 
about 150 rifl Miieo, under command of M.ijor Ap- 
pling. Mr. D. \on having returned with a report of 
the coast being clear, we set off at dark and arrived 
at Big Salmon river about sunrise on the :i9lh, with 
the loss of one boat having on board two 24 pounders 
and one cable. 

At Big Salmon we met the Oneidas, whom I had 
despatched the day previous, under the command of 
Lieut. Hill, of the riHe reafinieot. As soon as thev 
had taken uii their line of march along the shore to 
Big Sandy Creek, I started with all the boats and ar- 
rived at our place of destination about two miles up 
the Creek. At 2 P. M. on the 30th, 1 received your 
letter of the 29th, (3 P. M. per express, and agreeably 
to the order contained thereni, sent Lieut. Pierce to 
lookout as far as Sloney Point: about (3 he returned, 
having been pursued by a gun boat and three barges. 
Ttie best possible disposition was made of the riHe- 
inen and Lidiaus, about half a mile below our boats. 
About 8 A. M. a cannonading at long shot was com- 
menced by the enemy, and believing (as I did) that 
no attempt would be made to la.id with their small 
force, 1 ordered Lieut. Pierce to proceed in erecting 
sheers and making ^reparations to unload the boats. 
About 9 o'clock Capt. Harris with a squadron of 
dragoons, and Capt. Melvin with a company of light 
artillery and 2 f)-pounders, arrived. Capt. Harris, 
the commanding officer, agreed with me that this re^ 
inforceraent should halt, as the troops best calculated 
for a bush fight were already on the ground, where 
thev could act to the greatest advantage, and that the 
enemy seeing a large reinforcement arrive, would 
most probably retreat. About 10, the enemy having 
38 



298 «[lSTORY OF THE WAR. 

jatideei and pushed up the creek with four ^un boatii, 
three cutters, and one gig — ihe riflemen under that 
excellent officer, M-.ijor Appling, rose from their coMf. 
cealment, and after a smart lire or about 10 minutes, 
succeeded in capturing all the boats and their crews, 
without one having escaped. At about 5 P. M. 
buried, with the honors of war, Mi. Hoare (a British 
midshipman) killed in the action. 

Tlie enemy's loss in this affair, is 14 killed, 28 
^Wounded, and 141 prisoners, including two post 
Captains, and six Lieutenants ; 4 gun boats, qne car- 
tymg 1 24-pounder, and one 681b. carronade; each 
of the others carrying two heavy guns ; two cutter* 
and one gig. 

1 have the honor to be, 8cc. 

M. T. WOOLSEY. 

LOSS OF THE ESSEX. 
(japt. Porter to the Secretary oj tne Navy. 

Essex Junior, at sea, July 3, 1814. 
\^ExtractP\ SIR — I sailed from the Delaware, Oct. 
27, 181'i, and repaired to Port Pray a, INoronho, and 
Cape Frio. On my passage from Port Praya to No- 
ronho, I captured his B. M. Packet Norton ; after tak- 
ing out 1 1,000 pounds sterling in specie, sent her for 
America. Oti Ca|.e Frio I captured a schooner with 
hides and tallow, and sent her into Porto Rico. [ 
proceeded to St. Catherines, to supply my ship with 
provisions. From St. Catherines I shaped my course 
for the Pacific, and arrived at Valj>araiso March 14, 
1813. Of the success we met with m our next cruise 
you have been informed in my letter ot July 2, 1813- 
1 received information that the Phoebe frigate, and 
Racoon and Cherub sloops of war, were in pursuit of 
me. My sliip, after being near a year at sea, requir- 
ed some repairs to put her in a state to meet them ; 
which 1 determined to do, and repaired, with my 
prizes, to the Island of Nooaheevah, or Madison 
Island, where I completely overhauled my ship, and 
took on board, from the prizes, provisions and stores 



HISTORY OF THE "WAR. 299 

for upwards of four months, and sailed for the coast 
of Chili, Dec. 12,1813. Previous to sailing- 1 se- 
cured the Serini^apatam, Greenwich, and Sir A. 
Hammond, under the g-uns of a battery which I had 
erected for their protection ; (after taking possession 
of this fine Island, for the United Stales, and estab- 
lishing- the most triendly intercourse with its natives) 
I left them under the care of Lieot. Gamble and 21 
men, with orders to repair to Valparaiso after a cer- 
tain period. Believing- Com. Hillyer would be most 
likely to appear at Valparaiso first, I therefore deter- 
mined to cruise about that place. Agreeably to my 
expectations the Com. arrived at that place ; but 
contrary to uiy expectations, he brought with him the 
Cherub sloop of war, mounting 28 guns, and a com- 
plement of 180 men. The force of the Phoebe, the 
Corn's, flag ship, was oO long 18 pounders, 1(3 32 lb. 
carronades, and 7 3 pounders in her tops, in all 53 
•guns, and a crew of 320 men ; making a force of 81 
gims and OOO men. The force of the Essex was 40 
32 lb. carronades a*nd tj long twelve's, and her crew 
(had been reduced by manning out her prizes to 2-')5 
men. They provisioned, and went off the port for 
the purpose of blockading me. I often endeavored 
to provoke a challenge, and bring the Piioebe alone 
to action with the Essex, but without success. There 
were no hopes of any advantages to my country from 
u longer stay in port; I therefore determined to put; 
to sea the first opportunity. The 28th of March, the 
day after this resolution was formed, the wind blew 
fresh from the southward, when I parted my larboard 
cable and dragged directly out to sea. Not a mo- 
ment was to be lost in getting sail on the ship. On 
Tounding the point a heavy squall struck us, and car- 
ried away our main top-mast, precipitating four men 
into the sea, who drowned, Both ships now gave 
chase ; seeing I could not recover my former anchor- 
age in my disabled stale, I ran close into a small bay? 
and anchored within pistol shot of the shore, under 
cover of two batteries off Valparaiso, which being 



300 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

Tientral were bound to protect me ; at least till I had 
re|)aired damages. I had not succeeded in repairing 
or getrttig' a s})ring on my cable \^ben the enemy at 
54 minutes past 3, P. M. made bis attack. The 
Phoebe [)lacing' herself under my stern, and the Che- 
rub on my starboard bow; butfindmg that situation a 
hot one, she bore up and run under my stern also; 
where both ships kept up a raking- fire. I had got 
3 long 12 pounders out of the stern ports, which were 
worked with so much bravery that in half an hour we 
so disabled both as to compel them to haul olf to re- 
pair damages. My ship had leceived many injuries, 
and several had been killed and wounded, but all ap- 
peared determined to deiend the ship to 'he last, and 
to (lie in preference to a si ameful surrender. The 
enemy soon repaired his damages, and made a fresh 
attack with both ships on my starboard quarter, out 
of reach of my carronades, and where my stern g-uns 
couid not be brought to bear — he there kept up a gal- 
Jing- fire which it was out of my power to return. 
The only rope not cut was tlu nyiiig gib halliards, 
and that being the only sail I could set, I caused it to 
be hoisted, my cables to be cut, and run down on 
both ships, with an intention of laying the Phoebe on 
board. 

The firing on both sides was now tremendous ; I 
had let fall my fore-topsail and foresail, but the 
want of tacks and sheets rendered them useless, yet 
were we enabled for a short time to close with the 
enemy, although our decks were strewed with the 
dead, our cockpit filled witls wounded, our ship had 
been several times on fire, and a pei-fect wreck, we 
were still encouraged to hope to save her, as the 
Cherub in her crippled stale, had been comi'.elled to 
haul off. The Phoebe, from our disabled state, was 
enabled to edge off, and choose her distance, for her 
long guns, and kept up such a tremendous fire, as to 
mow down my brave companions by the dozen. I 
now gave up all hopes ol closing vv;th hm), and de- 
termineu to run onshore, land my men, and destroy 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 301 

the vessel. We had approached the shore within 
musket shot, when in an instant the wind shifted, and 
payed our head down on the Phoebe. My ship was 
now totally unmanageable ; yet, as her head was to- 
ward the enemy, and he to the leeward of me, I still 
hoped to be nble to board him. Finding the enemy 
•was determined to avoid being- boarded, and my ship 
alarmingly on lire, and the slaughter on board having 
become most horrible, I directed a hawser to be bent 
to the sheet anchor, and the bow anchor to be cut, io» 
bring her head round : this succeeded, and we again 
got our guns to bear ; but the hawser soon gave way 
and left us a perfect wreck. The Hames were burst- 
ing up the hatchway, and no hopes were entertained 
of saving the ship, as a qnantity of powder had al- 
ready exploded, and the fire had nearly reached the 
magazine, which served to increase the horrors of our 
situation. I therefore directed those who could swim 
to jump overboard and gain the shore. Some reach- 
ed it — some were taken by the enemy — and some 
perished. We who remained, turned our attention 
wholly to extinguishing the flames; when we had 
succeeded, went again to onr guns, where the firing 
was kept up for some minutes. Almost every gun 
having been dismounted, and the impossibility of 
making further attempts to capture our antagonists, 
aiul the entreaties of the remainder of my br;\ve 
crew, to- surrender to save the Mounded, I sent 
for the officers of divisions to consult them, b«t 
what was my surprise, to find only acting Lieut. 
M'Knight remaining. I was informed that the cock- 
pit, steerage, wardroom, and birth-deck would con- 
tain no more wounded ; and that the ship was filling 
with water very fast. The enemy were enabled from 
the smoothness of the water, to take aim at us as a 
target — in fine, I saw no hopes of saving my vessel 
or making my escape, and at 20 minutes past C P. M. 
gave the painful order to strike the colors. Seventy- 
five men, including officers, were all that remained 
of my crew when the colors were struck, capable of 



302 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

doingf duty. 1 directed an opposite ^«n fired to slicw 
"Vi'e intended no further resistance ; but they did not 
desist ; a number or men were killed by my side and in 
other parts of the ship. 1 1 ow believed he intended to 
show us no quarter, and thought it would be as well to 
die with my flag" flying' as struck, and was on the 
point of again hoisting it, when 10 minutes after 
h.uling- the colors down, he ceased firing. 

I must in justification of myself and crew observe, 
tliat with our six twelve pounders only, we fought this 
action, our carronades being almost useless. 

Our loss is 58 killed — iS6 wounded — and 31 mis- 
sing — total 154. I have the honor, 8cc. 

DAVID PORTER. 

\Exlract\ Com. Channcey tothe Secrdai^i of the Navy , 
tJ. S. ship Superior, Sackett's Harbor, JVlay 16, 18 J4, 
The enemy has paid dearly for the little booty 
which be obtained at Osweg-o. From the best infor- 
mation which I can collect, both from deserters and 
my agents, the enemy lost 70 men killed and 165 
wounded, drowned and missing — in all, 235 ; nearly 
as many as were opposed to them. Capt. Mutcaster 
is ceitainly mortally wounded ; a Gapt, of marines 
killed, and a number of other officers killed and 
Avounded. 

Col. Miichell, to Gen. Bronm. 
Head Quarters, Oswego, May 8th, 1814. 
[Extract^ SIR — I informed you ot" my arrival at 
fort Oswego on the 30th ult. This post being but 
occasionally and not receiilly occupied by regular 
troops, was in a bad state of defence. Of cannon we 
had but five old guns, three of which l>ad lost their 
trunnions. What could be done in the way of repair 
was effected. On the 5th inst. the British naval force, 
consisting of four large shij>s, three brigs and a num- 
ber of gun and other boats were descried at reveillebeal- 
ittg about seven miles from the fort. Inforraation 
was inuuediately given to Capt. Woolsey of the uavyi, 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 303 

(irwho was at Oswego viUage) and to the neighboring 
militia. It being doubtful on what side ot the river 
the enemy would atteni|)t to land, and my torce, (290 
effectives) being too small to bear division, I ordered 
the teiits in stor«. to be pitched on the village side, 
while I occu[)ied the other with my whole force, (t 
is probable that this artitice had its effect aad deter- 
mined the enemy to attack where, from ap|)earances, 
they expected the least opposition. About one 
o'clcok the fleet approached. Fifteen boats, large and 
crowded with troops, at a given signal, moved slow- 
ly to the shore. These were preceded by gun-boats 
sent to rake the woods and cover the landing, while 
the larger vessels opened a fire upon the fort. Capt, 
Boyle and Lieut. Legate, (so soon as the debarking 
boats got within range ofoursliot) opened upon them 
a very successful fire from the shore battery, and 
compelled them twice to retire. Tliey at length re- 
turned to the ships and the whole stood off from the 
shore for better anchorage. One of the enemy's boats 
which had been deserted, was taken up by us, a .d 
some others by the militia. The first mentioned was 
sixty feet long, carried thirty-six oars and three sails 
and could accommodate 160 men. She had receiv- 
ed a ball through her bow, and was nearly filled with 
water. 

At day break on the 6th the fleet appeared bear- 
ing up under easy sail. The Wolfe, Sec. took a posi- 
tion directly against thefortand batteries, and for three 
hours kept up a heavy fire of grape, Sec. Finding that 
the enemy had effected a landing, I withdrew my 
small disposable force into the rear of the fort, and 
with two compames met their advancing columns, 
while the other companies engaged the flanks of the 
enemy. Lieut. Pearce of the navy and some seamen, 
joined in the attack and fought with their character- 
istic bravery. We maintained our ground about 
thirty minutes, and as long as consisted with my fur- 
ther duly of defending the public stores deposited at 
the falls, which no doubt formed the principal object 



"^nJJF' 



304 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

of the expedition on the part of the enemy. Nor was 
this movement made precipitately. I halted within 
400 yards of the fort. Capt. Romayne's company 
formed the rear guard, and, remaining" with it, 1 
marched to this place in good order, destroy iiig the 
bridges in my rear. The enemy landed six hundred 
of De Watteville's regiment, six hundred marines, 
two companies of the Glengary corps, and three hun- 
dred and fifty seamen. 

Gen. Drummond and Com. Yeo were the land and 
naval commanders. They burned the old barracks 
and evacuated the fort about 3 o'clock in the mornins: 
ot the 7lh. 

Our loss in killed, is six ; in wounded, thirty-eight 
— and in missing, twenty five. I'he enemy lost 70 
killed, and 165 wounded, drowned, and prisoners. 

Gen. Brown to the Secretary of fVar. 
Head' Quarters, Chippewa, July 7th, 1814. 
[Extract.] SIR — On the 2d inst. I issued orders 
for crossing the Niagara, and made arrangements 
deemed necessary for securing the garrison of Fort 
Erie — the 3d, that post surrendered, at 5 P. M.^ Our 
loss in this affair, was 4 wounded ; 137 prisoners, in- 
cluding 1 Maj. I Capt. 3Lieuts. and 1 ensign, with 
the ammunition and cannon belonging to the post 
were surrendered to us. 

— On the morning of the 4th, Brig. Gen. Scott, was 
ordered to advance towards Chippewa, and be 
governed by circumstances ; taking care to secure a 
good military position for the night ; after some skir- 
mishing, he selected this plain with the eye of a sol- 
dier, his right resting on the river, and a ravine being 
in front. At 11 at night I joined him, with the reserve 
under Brig. Gen. Ripley, with our field and battering 
train, and corps of artillery. The next morning Gen. 
Porter arrived with a part of the Pennsylvania and 
N. York volunteers, and some Indians. Early in 
the morning oftheoth, the enemy commenced a petty 
war upon our pickets, and, as he m'us indulged, his 
presam[)tion increased. 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 305 

At 4 P. M. asri'eeably to my orders, Gen. Porter 
advanced from the rear of our camp, taking- the 
woods in order to keep out of view of the enemy, in 
hopes of surrounding their scouting^ parties. In 
half an hour Porter's command met the light parlies 
and drove them to camp ; and near Chippewa, met 
their whole column in order of battle. I mimediate- 
ly ordered Gen. Scott to advance with his brigade, 
and Towsan's artillery, who met them upon the high 
plain in front of our camp. He advanced in the 
most officer like style, and ma few minutes was in 
close action, with a superior force of Brit sh regulars. 
Gen. Porter's command had given way, and fled in 
every direction, which caused Scott's left flank to be 
greatly exposed. Capt. Harris, with his dragoons, 
was directed to stop ihe fugitives, behind the ravine 
fronting our camp ; Gen. Hipley was directed to pass 
to the left and skirt the woods, so as to keep out of 
view, a »d fall upon the rear of the enemy's right flank. 
This order was promptly obeyed, and the greatest 
e\ertions made to close with the enemy - but in vain ; 
for such was I he zeal and activity of the line com- 
manded by Gen. Scott, that it was not to be checked- 
Maj. Jessup, commanding the left flank, finding him- 
self pressed in front and flank, and his men falling 
fast around him, ordered his baltallion to ' support 
armsy and advance ; the order was promptly 
obeyed, amidst a most deadly and destructive fire. 
He gained a more secure position, and returned upon 
the enemy so galling a discharge, as caused them to 
retire. By this time their whole line was falling 
back, and our gallant soldiers pressing upon them, 
when they broke their lines, and ran to regain their 
works. In this effort he was too successful, when the 
guns opened immediately upon our line, checked, in 
some degree, the pursuit. At this moment, I deter- 
mined to bring up my ordnance, and force the [)lace by 
a direct attack ; Maj. Wood, of the engineers a:. d 
Capt. Austin, my aid, rode to the right of their line 
39 



306 HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

of works and examined Ihem ; 1 wns imluced l.y their 
renoH, to order the forces to retire to camp, tiU a 
<•..,„•<- lime Respectfully nnd truly yonrs, 

iutmttime. l JACOB BROWN. 

AMEKICAN loss. 
Killed 00— wounded 244— missing 19. 
BBITISH loss. 

Killed 199— wounded 3a0— prisoners 245. 

Gen. BroKH to ike Secretary of ll'a.-. 

Buffalo, Aug. 17, 1814. 
rFvlracn SIR— You are already apprised that 
the an"v had on the 2oth ult. taken a position at Clup- 
pew a About noon of that day. Col. Sw,ft,whowas 
IZIa atLewistown, advised me by express, that the 
CmvaPP^»'-^din considerable force .n aueenstown 
ad on iL heights ; that four of the enemy s Beet had 
"rnved during the preceding night, and were then 
H nt near Fort Niagara, and that a nuniber of boats 
v^ eliview, moving up the streight. Wilhm a few 
mim.es after this intelligence had been .-eee.ved, I 
wa u1her informed by Capl. Denmon, of theQi-a,^ 
JlrMiser's department, that the enemy was lauding 
at 'Sown, and that our baggage and stores a 
ScWosseis and on their way thither, were ,n danger ot 
Wu e Ua te capture. Gen. Scott, with the 1st brigade, 
Townsou's artillery, and all the dragoons and mount- 
ed men. were accordingly put in march or. the road 
"eadmo- to aneenstown, with orders to report it the 
em /appeared, and to call for ''''""'""'^^ '' " 'f^ 
was necessarv. On the Generals arriva at the Falls 
helearned that the enemy was in force direelly m his 
from Tn-, "ow piece of woods alone intercepting his 
^i^w^ them Wailing only to give this mformation, 
.e ^dtn eTupon Ihern". By the time Assistant Adj. 
Gen .Tones had delivered his message, ' !« '«^''°" b*; 
ffai and befm-e the remaining part ot the division 
n 'crossed the Chippewa, it had become close a.,d 
General between the advance corps, {''""^h t>^,"- 
Klpley with Ihe 2d brigade, major Hmdman with U.e 



HISTORY OF THE AVAR. 307 

corps of artillery, and Gen. Porter at the head of his 
command, liad respectively pressed forward with ar- 
dor, it was not less than an hour befoi'e they were 
brought to sustain Gen. Scott, durino- which time his 
command most skilfully and gallantly maintained the 
conflict. Upon my arrival 1 found that the General 
had passed the wood and engaged the enemy at 
Q,ueeMstown road, and on the ground to the left of 
it, with the 9lli, 1 Ith, and 22d legts. and Townson's 
artillery. The 2oth had been thrown to the right to 
be governed by circumstances. Apprehending that 
these corps were much exhausted, and knowing that 
tliey had suHlred severely, I determined to interpose 
a new line with the advancing troops, and thus dis- 
engage Gen. Scott and hold his brigade in reserve. 
Orders were accordingly given to Gen. Ri|)ley. The 
euemy's artillery at this moment occupied a hill which 
gave him great advantages, and was the key of the 
whole position. It was supported by a line of infant- 
ry. To secure the victory, it was necessary to carry 
this artillery and seize the height. This duty was as- 
signed to Ool. Miller, while, to favor its execution, 
the 1st regt. under the command of Col. Nicholas, 
was directed to menace and au»use the infantry. To 
my great mortitication, this regt. after a discharge 
or two, give way and retreated some distance before 
it could be rallied, though it is believed the officers 
of the regiment exerted themelves to shorten this dis- 
tance, in the mean time. Col. Miller, 'without re- 
gard to this occurrence, advanced steadily and gal- 
lantly to his object and carried the height and the 
cannon. Gen. Ripley brought up the 2od (which 
had also faultered) to his support, and the enemy dis- 
a{)peared from before them. The 1st regiment was 
BOW brought into line on the left of the 21st, and the 
detachments of the 17lh and J 9th, Gen. Porter oc- 
cupying, with his command, the extreme left. About 
the time Col. Miller carried the enemy's cannoi), the 
2>th regiment, u.ider Maj. .lessup, was engaged in a 
more ob-jtmate conil^ct with all that remamed to uis- 



308 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

pnte with us the field of battle. The Maj. as has been 
already stated, had been ordered by Gen. Scolt, at the 
commencement of the action, to take ground to his 
rijriit. He had succeeded in turning" the enemv's left 
flank — had captured (by a detachment under Captain 
Ketchum) Gen. Riall and sundry other officers, and 
shewed himself again to his own army, in a blaze of 
fire, which delV^ated or destroyed a very superior force 
of the enemy. He was ordered to form on the right 
of the 2d regiment. The enemy rallying his forces, 
and as is bebeved, having received reinforcements, 
now attempted to drive us from our position, and re- 
gain his artillery. Our line was unshaken, and the 
enemy repulsed. Two other attempts having the 
same object, had the same issue. Gen. Scott was 
again engaged in repelling the former of these; and 
the last I savv of him on the field of batt'e, he was 
near the head of bis column, and giving to its march 
a direction that would have placed him on the ene- 
my's right. It was with great pleasure' 1 saw the good 
order and intrepidity of Gen. Porter's volunteers from 
the moment of their arrival, but during the last charge 
of the enemy, those qualities were conspicuous. 
Stimulated by the examples set by their gal'ant lead- 
e', by M'lj. Wood, of the Pennsylvania corps, by Col.' 
Pobbin, of New-York, and by their officers general- 
ly, they precipitated themselves upon the enemy's line, 
and made all the prisoi»ers which were taken at this 
point of the action. 

Having been tor sometime w©unded, and being a 
good deal exhausted by loss of blood, it became my 
wish to devolve the command on Gen. Scott, and re- 
tire from the field j but on enquiry, I had the misfor- 
tune to learn, that he was disabled by wounds ; I 
therefore kept my post, and had the satisfaction to see 
the enemy's last effort repulsed. I now consigned the 
command to Gen. Ripley. 

I saw and felt the victory was complete. The ex- 
bauslion of our men was such as made some refresh- 
ment necessary. They particularly required water ; 
I therefore ordered Gen. Ripley to return to camp, 



HISTORY OF THE WAK. 809 

ufter br'uio^inor off the dead, wounded, and artillery, 
M'hicli was effected in ^ood order. 
1 have the honor to be. Sec. 

JACOB BROWN. 
American Loss. 
Killed, 171--Wounded, 572— -Missing, 110. 

British Loss. 
Killed, 184— Wounded, 559— Prisoners, 221. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Copy of a Letter from the mayor oj Alexandria to 
the mayor of Georyttorvn. 
Dkar Sir — Enclosed is a copy of the terms pro- 
posed to the common council of Alexandria, by the 
commandiiij^ officer of the squadron now lying before 
the town, to which they were compelled to submit. 
Very respectfully, &c. 

CHARLES SIMMS. 
TERMS OF CAPITULATION. 
His Ma)estys ship iSea Horse, 
Off Alexandria, 29th Aug. 1814. 
Gentlemen — ^In consequence of a deputation 
yesterday received from the city of Alexandria, re- 
questing- favorable terms for the safety of the city, the 
undermentioned are the only conditions in my power 
to offer. 

The town of Alexandria, with the exception of 
public works, shall not be destroyed, unless hostilities 
are commcinced on the part of the Americans, nor 
shall the inhabitants be molested in any manner what- 
ever, or their dwelling houses entered, if the follbw- 
ing- articles are complied with : 

Art. 1. All naval and ordnance stores, public or 
private, must be immediately delivered up. 

2. Possession will be immediately taken of all the 
shipping, and their furniture must be sent on board 
by the owners without delay. 



UiQ HlSTO£^Y OF THE WAR. 

3. The vessels that have been sunk must be deliv- 
ered up in the state they wt-re, on the 19lh of Auo'ust, 
the day of the squadron passing tlie Kettle Bottoms. 

4. Merchandize of every description must be in- 
stantly delivered up, and to prevent any irregularity, 
that might be committed in its embarkation, t!te mer- 
chants have it at their option to load the vessels gener- 
ally' employed for that purpose, when they shall be 
towed oft" by us. 

5. All merchandize that has been removed from 
Alexandria, since the 19th inst. is to be included in 
the above articles. 

6. Refreshments of every description to be suppli- 
ed the ships, and paid for at the market price, by bills 
on the British government. 

7. Officers will be appointed to see that articles 
]Vo. 2, 3, 4 and 5, are strictly complied with, and 
any deviation or non-compliance, on the part of the 
inhabitants of Alexandria, will render this treaty null 
and void. 

J have the honor to be, &c. 

JOHN A. GORDON, 
Captain of H. 31. ship Sea Horse, 
and senior officer of H. 31. ships ojf Alexandria. 
To the common council 
of the town of Alexandria. 

Gen. Winder to the Secretary of War, 

Baltimore, August 27, 1814. 

SIR — When the enemy arrived at the mouth of 
the Potomac, of all the anlitia which* I had been au- 
thorised to assemble there were but about 1700 in the 
field, fromtliirteen to fourteen hundred under general 
Stansbury near this place, and about 2oO at Bladens- 
burgh, under lieutenant colonel Kramer. 

Alter all the force that could be put at my disposal 
in that short time, and making such dispositions as I 
deemed best calculated to present the most rt spertjible 
force at whalevtrpoint.the enemy might strike, I was 
enabled by tue most active and harrassmg movement* 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. M fill 

of the troops to interpose befor the enemy at Bladens^ 
bnroh about five thousand men, including- three hun- 
dred and fifty regulars and commodore Barney s com- 
mand Much the laruest portion of this force arriv- 
ed on the trround when the enemy were m sight, and 
were disposed of to support in the best mamuT the 
position which Gen. Stansbury had taken. They 
had barely reached the ground before the action com- 
menced, which was about 1 o'clock P. M. of the 
o4ih inst. and continued about an hour. 
" The artdlery from Baltimore supported by major 
Pinkney's rifie'baltalion, and a part of captam Dough- 
lev's from the navy yard, were in advance to com- 
mand the pass of the brido^e at Bladensburgh, and 
plaved upon the enemy, as I have since learned, with 
very destructive efiV:ct. But the rifle troops were ob- 
lipcd after some time to retire and ot course artillery. 
Superior numbers however rushed U|)on them and 
made their retreat necessary, not however without 
o-reat loss on the part of the enemy. 
"^ The rioht and centre of Stansbury s brigade con- 
sistincr of' lieutenant colonel Ragan's and Shuier's 
reoiinents, generally gave way very soon afterward^ 
^^^th the exception of about forty rallitd by colonel 
Raffan, after having lost his horse, and the whole or 
a pTrt of captain Shower's company, both ot whom 
oeneral Stansbury represents to have made, even 
Thus deserted, a gallant stand. 

The reserve under brigadier general Smith ot the- 
district 'of Columbia, with the militia of the city and 
Georgetown, with the regulars and some detachments 
of Marvh^nd militia, flanked on their nglit by com- 
modore''Barney and his brave fellows, and lieutenaftt 
colonel Beal, still were on the right on the hill, and 
maintained the contest for some time with great 

efl'ect. 

It is not with me to report the conduct of commo- 
dore Barney and his command, nor can I speak troai 
observation; bein- too remote, but the concurrent 
testimony of all who did observe them, does \hem 



312 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

the highest justice for their brave resistance and the 
destructive effect they produced on the enemy. 

From the best intelligence, there remains but little 
doubt that the enemy lost at least four hundred killed 
and wounded, and of these a very unusual portion 
killed. 

Our loss cannot, I think, be estimated at more than 
from thirty to forty killed, and fifty to sixty wounded. 

They took altogether about one hundred and tw en- 
ty prisoners. 

I am With very great respect, sir, your obedient 
servant. WM. H. WINDER, 

Brig. Gen. lOth mditary district. 

Com. Barney to the Stcretary of the Navy. 

Farm, at Elk ridge, Aug. 29, 1*814. 
[Extract.^ SIR — This is the first moment I have 
had it m my power to make a report of the proceed- 
ings of the forces under my command since 1 had the 
honor of seeing you on Tuesday, the 2?5d mst. at the 
camp at the * Old Fields.' On the afternoon of that 
day we were informed that the enemy was advancnig 
upon us. Our army was put into order of battie aud 
our positions taken; my forces were on the ng t, 
flanked by the two baltallions of the 36lh and o8th 
regiments. A little before sunset Gen. Winder came 
to me and recommended that the heavy artillery 
should be withrawn, with the excejtion of one twelve 
pounder to cover the retreat. We took up the line of 
inarch, and in the night entered Washington by the 
Eastern Branch bridge. Tfie Gen. requested nie to 
take command and place my artillery to defend the 
passage of the bridge on the Eastern Branch, as Ihe 
enemy was approaching the city in that direction. 
I immediately put my guns in position, leaving the 
marines and the rest of my men at the barrac ks, to 
■wait further orders I was in this situation uhcn I 
bad the honor to meet you with the President and 
heads of Departments, when it was determined I 
should draw off my guns and meii, and proceed to- 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. ^13 

^Vards Bladensburg-, which was immediately put into 
execution. On our way I was informed the enemy 
was within a mile of Bladensburg" ; we hurried on, 
thoug-h the day was very hot, and my men much 
crippled from the severe marches we had experienced 
the preceding days. I preceded the men, and when 
I arrived at the line which separates the District from 
Maryland, the battle began. •! sent an officer back 
to hasten on my men — they came up in a trot. We 
took our position on the rising ground, put the pieces 
in battery, posted the marines under Capt. Miller, 
and flotilla men, who were to act as infantry under their 
own officers, on my right, to support tho pieces, and 
waited the approach of the enemy. During- this pe- 
riod the eng-aj^emeiit continued — the enemy advanc- 
ing, and our army retreating befon them — apparently 
in much disorder. At length the enemy made his 
appearance on the mam road in force and in front of 
my batttrv, and on seeing us made a halt ; I reserved 
our fire; m a few minutes the enen»y again advanced, 
when I ordered an 18 pounder to be fired, which 
completely cleared the road ; shortly after, a second 
and third attempt was made by the enemy to come 
forward, but all who made the attempt were destroy- 
ed. The enemy then crossed over into an open field 
and attempted to flank our right. He was tliCre met 
by three 12 pounders, the marines under captain Mil- 
ler, and my men acting- as iutantry, and again was to- 
tally cut up. By this time not a vestige of the Ame- 
rican army remained, except a body of five or six 
hundred posted on a height on my right, from whom 
I expected much support from their fine situation. — 
The enemy from this period never appeared in front 
of us. He however pushed forward his sharp shoot- 
ers, one of vhom shot my horse from under me, 
which fell dead between two of my guns. Theene-^ 
my, who had been kept in check by our fire nearly 
half an* hour, now began to ont flank us on the right. 
Our guns were turned that way — he pushed up the 
hill about two or three hundred-men towards the corps 
40 



314 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

of Americans stnlioned as almve described, who io 
niv greai mortification m;^de no resistiince, giving a 
fire or two and retiring'. 

In this siluatidn vse had lie whole army of the en- 
emy to contend with ; our annumituin was expended, 
and unfortnnateiv the drivers of my ammnnilion 
was^pons had gone ofl' in the g'cnnal panic. At ihis 
time I received a sevtre woniid ni my thigh. Finding 
the enemy now c<;mplelely in our rear and no me; ns 
of defer»ce, 1 ga\e orders to m> oflhcers and men to 
retire. The great loss oi blood occasioned such a 
weakness that I was com jelled to lie down I le-. 
questedmy ( fhcers to leave me, which they obstinale- 
ly refused, but upon being ordered, they obe>ed : 
one only remained, fn a short time 1 observed a 
British soldier and had him called, and directed him 
to seek an officer ; in a lew mn utes an officer came, 
■who, on learning who I mhs, brought Gen. Ross aid 
admiral Cockburn to me. These offit ers behaved to 
me wit!; the most n>aiked attention, res[)ect and po- 
liSeness; lad a surgeon biought, an< ni} wound (ires* 
std immediately. Altera few minutes convtrsation, 
the general infoimed (after paying me a handsome 
compliment) that I was jfiniedf aitd at bberly to 
proceed to Washington or Bluciensburg, offering me 
every assistance in h s power, giving orders for a lit- 
ter to be brought, in vvhich 1 was carried to Blaueiis- 
burg. 

My wound is deep, but T flatter myself not dange- 
rous ; the ball is not yet extracted. 

JOeKUA BARNEY. 

Com. Mncdonovijh to the Secretary of the ISavy. 
U.S" shipSitratdga,ofi Plallsburg, ^ept. 1I,1M4. 
MR — The Almighty has been pleased to grant 
ns aMgnal victory on Lake Champlain, in the cap- 
ture of one frigate, one brig, and two sloops ot war 
of the enemy. 

1 Jiave the honor to be, .^c. 

T. MACDONOUGH. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 3ib 

Com. Macdoiwugli to the ^^ecretory tif the Navy. 
XL S. ship HaialoL^a, at anchor off | 
Paltsbmg, Stpt. l-i, IS 14. f 
SIR — By lieulenaiil commandant Ca^sin I have 
the honor to convey to you the tl.i«i^s of his Britannic 
Majesty's late squadron, ca tared on the llth inst. 
by the United Slates' squadron untler mv command. 

T. MACDOSOUGH. 

I V 

Com. Miicdnnoiiyh to the ISecretary of tlie Navy. 
' I'. S. ship Saratoga, Platlsburg- bay,) 
September 13, l814. § 

SIR — I have tlie honor to give you the particulars 
of the action which took place on the llth inst. on 
this Lake. 

At >S A. M. the look-out boat announced the ap- 
proach of the enemy. At 9, he ancliored in aline 
ahead, at about three hundred yards distance from 
niv line ; Ins ship opposed to the Saratoga, his brig" 
to the Eagle, his gallies, thiiteeu in number, to the 
schooner, sloo •, and a division of our gallies ; one 
of his sloops assisting their ship and Ijrig, the other 
assisting their gallies. Our remaining gallies with 
the Saratoga and Eagle. 

In this situation the whole force on both sides be- 
came engaged, the Saratoga suffering much from the 
heavy fire of the Confiance. I could perceive at the 
same time, howev<^r, thit our tire was very destruc- 
tive to her. The Ticonderotra <> allantly sustained her 
full share of ihe action. Ai half paxt 10 o'clock the 
Eagle, not being able to bring her guns to bear, cut 
her cable and anchored in a more eligible position, 
between my ship and the Ticonderoga, where she 
very much annoyed the enemy. Our guns on the 
starboard side being nearly all dismounted, or not 
manageable, a stern anchor was let go, the bower 
cable cut, and the ship winded with afresh broadside 
on the enemy's ship, which soon after surrendered. 
Our broadside was then sprung to bear on the brig, 
which surrendered in about 15 minutes after. 



316 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

The sloop that was opposed to the Eagle, had 
struck some time be» ore and drifted down the line; 
the sloop which was with their gal lies having struck 
also. Three of their gailies are said to he sunk, the 
others pulled off. Our gallies were about obeying 
■with alacrity the signal to follow them, when ail the 
vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking state : 
it then became necessary to annul the signal to the 
gallies, and order their men to the pumps. 

1 could only look at the enemy's gallies going off 
in a shattered condition, for there was not a mast 
in either squadron that could stand to make sail om. 

The Saratoga had fifty-fi\e round shot in her hull ; 
the Confiance one hundred and live. The enemy's 
shot passed principally just over our heads, as there 
were not 20 whole hammocks in the nettii gs at the 
close of the action, which lasted without intermis- 
sion two hours and twenty minutes. 

The Saratoga was twice set on fire with hot shot 
from the enemy's ship. I have the honor to be, &c. 

T. MACDOJNOUGH. 

P. S. — Accompanying this is a list of killed and 
"wounded, a list of prisoners — and a precise slate- 
ment of both torces engaged, 

AMERICAN FORCE AND LOSS. 

Ships. guns. 

Saratoga, 26 
Eagle, 20 , 

T.cotideroga, 17 
Preble, 7 

10 Gun Boats, 16 



mtn. 


killed. 


wounded 


210 


28 


29 


120 


13 


20 


liO 


6 


6 


30 


2 




350 


3 


3 



86 820 62 58 

BRITISH FORCE AND LOSS. 



Ships. 


guns. 


men. 


killed. 


wounc 


Confiance, 


39 


800 


50 


60 


Liuiiet, 


16 


120 


20 


30 


Growler, 


11 


40 


6 


10 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 317 

Ea^le, 11 40 8 10 

l;3GunBoats,18 6d0 



9o lOoO 84 110 

Several of the gun boats struck ; but the sinking 
stale of the huge vessels required the assistance of 
the men in our j^aUies, which enabled them to escape, 
excepting" three, which sunk with all on board, which 
makes their loss 174 killed, 110 wounded, and 416 
prisoners. 

Note. — The following valuable property was taken 
on board the Jieel, to wit . — 1 1,800 lbs. oj powder ex- 
clusive of Jix^ed amniun.tion — 85,000 /6s. of cannon 
had — 0000 muskets — 0)0 suits of sailors' clothiufft 
and aU the winter clotlwiy oJ the whole of their land 
army. 

Bnrniny of Petipauf/e. — Between 10 and 11 o'clock, 
P. M. of April 7lh, 1814, six British boats were dis- 
covered coming into Connecticut river ; by 12, a 
large force of the enemy had taken possession of an 
old fort at Saybrook Point, where finding nothing, 
the fort having been decayed for several years, re- 
eiitered their boats, anil proceeded for Petipauge 
Point, about miles higher up the river, where they 
arrived about 4 o'clock. The vessels in harbor being 
on tire, first gave notice that the enemy was near. 
T ;ere was not time alter the alarm, to get the wo- 
men and children otf frt)m the PoinU betore the ene- 
my had landed, and began burning nie vessels on the 
stocks; they immediatelv commenced searching the 
houses and stores, tor arms and ammunition, taking 
ail tht-y could find, and destroying furniture to a con- 
siderable amount ; liquors of ail kinds, when found, 
after satisfying themselves, were destroyed by staving 
the casks. There was no opposition to their plunder, 
although they remained on shore till 10 o'clock, when 
they called in their men, and proceeded down the 
river about a mile, with a brig, a schooner, and 2 



318 HrSTORY OF THE WAR. 

sloops, where ihey anchored and lay till dark, "wheii 
they set lire to their prizes, and proceeded down to 
their vessels. 

Attack on Stoninqton, — The British fleet off New- 
liOndoii having- been reinforced on the 9ih August^ 
1814, a pari of it, to wit, one 74, two frig-ates, a sloop 
of war, and a brig-, appeared off Stoiiington, when 
Sir Thomas Hardy sent a flag on shore for the in- 
formation of the women and children^ that if the town 
-Was not surrendered in one hour, the whole should be 
laid in ashes. The inhabitants informed Sir Thomas, 
that Slonnyton was not Petipanyey and prepared their 
cannon, 2 long IS's, and one (3 pounder, for defend- 
ing themselves. Tlie attack began at 9, at night, and 
continued tdl 1 in the moi'oing, with round shot, 
bombs, and rockets. The militia, 30 in number, re- 
turned the fire with great vigor and eflect. The at- 
tack was renewed next morning, and as warmly re- 
sented — their brig, whic h lay nearest shore, was al- 
most cut to pieces, and one barge, full of men, was 
sUiik, when the enemy withdrew. Our loss was 4 
wounded, 2 houses fired, and 2 horses kiiled. On 
the 11th they ag-ain attacked the place, before which 
the humane Sir Thomas sent in another demand for 
its surrender, accompanied with a threat, that if it 
was not complied with, he would lay the whole town 
in ashes, or sacrijice his whole force, consisting of 13 
ships of war. Our little band ot Heroes paid little 
attention to his threat, but went steadily to vvoik at 
their cannon, and numled the enemy so, that he was 
obliged to abandon the expedition. 

Gen. Gains to the Secretary of War. 

Fort Erie, Aug. 23, 1814. 
[ F^/mc^]— SI R — I have the honor to communi- 
cate the particulars of the battle fought at this place, 
on the loth insl. I have heretofore omitted stating to 
you, that during the 13th and 11th, the eaemy had 
kept up a brisk cannonade upon this fort, which was 



IIISTORY OF THE WAR. 319 

briskly returnerl from our batteries, without any con- 
siderable loss on our part. At tj, A. M. of the l-jth, 
one o\' their shells lodged in a small macrazine, in 
Fort Erie, which was fortunately almost tmpty. It 
blew up with an explosion more awful in its appear- 
ance, than injurious in its eftects, as it did not (lisaijle 
9 man, or derange a g-un. It occasioned but a mo- 
nientary cessation of the thunders ot the artillery on 
both sides ; it was followed by a loud and joyous 
shout by the British army, which was immediately 
returned on our pnrt, an(l Capt. Williams, amidst tha 
smoke of the explosion, renewed the contest, by aa 
animated roar of his heavy cannon. 

The night was dark and rainy, but the faithful cen- 
tinel slept not. At half past 2 o'ch>ck, the right col- 
umn of the enemy approached, and though enveloped 
in darkness,* black as his designs and principles, 
was distinctly heard on our left, and promptly mark- 
ed by our musqnetry and cannon. Being mounted at 
the moment, I repaired to the point of attack, where 
the sheet of tire enabled me to see the enemy's column, 
about 1.500 men, approaching on that point ; his ad- 
vance was not checked until it had approached within 
ten fe^t of our infantry. A line of loose brush rep- 
resenting an abetlis only intervened; a column of the 
enemy attempted to pass round the abcttis ihrou^^h the 
■water, where it was nearly breast deep. At this mo- 
ment the enemy were repulsed, but instantly renewed 
the charge, and were again repulsed. My attention 
was now called to the right, where our batteries and 
lines were lighted by a most brilliant tire of cannon 
and musquefry ; it announced the approach of ti.e 
centre and left columns of the enemy, under Cols. 
Drummond and Scott; they were soon repulsed. 
That of the centre, led by Col. Drummond was not 
long kept in check; it approached at once every as- 
sailable point of the fort, and wilh scaling ladders, 

* I, with several of my officers, several tinies, heard orders giv- 
en, ' to give (he damned Yankee rascals tio ([uariers.' 



320 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

ascended the parapet, bul was lepulsed with dreadful 
carnag'e. The assault was twice repeated, and as 
often checked ; but the enemy liaviii^ moved round 
the ditch, covered with darkness, and the heavy cloud 
of smoke which rolled froju our cannon and niiis- 
quelry, repeated the charge, a.:d re-ascended the lad- 
ders, when their pikes, bayonets, and spears, fell upon 
our o-allant artillerists. Our bislion was lost ; Lieut. 
M'Donough, being severely wounded, demanded 
quarter, — it was refused by Col. Drummond. iVI'Do- 
nou<»'h then seized a handspike, and nobly defended 
hnnself until he was shot down with a p stol by the 
monster who had lefused him quarter, \^ho often re- 
iterated the order — cfwe the damned Yankee rascals no 
quarter. This hardened murderer soon met histate ; 
he was shot through the breast while repealing the 
order to give no quarter. 

The battle now raged with increased fury, on the 
right, but on the lett the enemy was repulsed and ])ut 
to dight. Thence and from the centre I ordered rein- 
forcements. They were promptly sent by Bng. Gen. 
Ripley and Brig.' Gen. Porter. Capt. Fanning, of 
the corps of artillery, kept up o spirited and destruc- 
tive fire with his field piecrs on the enemy attempting 
to approach the fort. Major Hindman's gallant ef- 
forts, aided by Maj. Trimble, having failed to dnve 
the enemy from the bastion with the remainuig artil- 
lerists and infantry in the fort, Capt. Buvisall of the 
4lh rifle regiment, with a detachment of riflemen, 
galUuitly rushed in through the gatew ay to their as- 
sistance, and with some infantry charged the enem\ ; 
but was repulsed, and the captain sevt^rely woundi d. 
A detachment from thelllh, 19th, and •22d,uifaiiliy, 
under Capt. Fo ter of the lllh, were ii.trouuced o\ tr 
the interior bastion, for the purpose of charging the 
enemy. Major Hail, Assist. In Gen. \ery hand- 
somely tendered his services to lead the charge. The 
charge was gallantly made by Caj)t. Foster and Maj. 
Hall, but owing to the narro\M»es., ol the passage up 
to the bastion admitting only 2 or d men abreast, it 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 321. 

failed. It was often repeated, and as often checked. 
The enemy's force in tlie bastion was, however, much 
cut to pieces and diminished hy our artillery and 
small arms. At lliis moment every operation was 
arrested hy the e\[)losion of some cartridges deposit- 
ed m the end of ihe slone budding adjoining- the con- 
tested bastion. The explosion was tremendons-r-it 
was decisive: the bastion was restored. At this ntOf. 
mejit Capt. Biddle was ordered to cause a held piece 
to be posted so as to enfilade the exterior plam aud 
salient glacis. Capt. Fanning's battery likewise play- 
ed upon them at tins lime with great effect. The 
enemy were in a few moments entnely defeated, ta- 
ken, or put to flight. I have the honor, (kc. 

E P. GAINS. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed, 17 — Woundeil,o6 — Missing, 11 — total, 84. 

BRITISH LOSS. 

Killed, 422 — Wounded, a54— Prisoners, 186—962. 

Gtn. Smith lo the Secretary of War. 

Baltimore, September 19, 1815. 
[E.r/rrtc/.] SIR — I have the honor of statmg that the 
enemy landed between 7 and 80U0 men on the 12tU 
inst. at North Point, 14 nnles distant from this cily. 
Anticipatnig this debarkation. Gen, Striker had been 
detached on Sunday evening w ith a portion of his 
brigade, to check any attempt the enemy might make 
in that quarter to land ; the General took a position 
on Monday, at the junction of the two roads leading 
from this place to the Point, having his right flanked 
on Bear Creek, and his left by a marsh. Here he 
waited the approach of the enemy, after having sent 
on an advance corps. Between two and three 
o'clock the enemy's whole force came up, and com- 
menced the battle by some discharges of rockets, 
which w ere succeeded by the cannon from both sides, 
when the action became general. Gen. Strieker gal- 
lantly mamtained his ground against this great supe- 
riority of numbers, one hour and 20 minutes, when 
41 



322 HISTORY OF THE WAK. 

his left gave way and he was obliged to retire to the 
ground in his rear. JHe here formed his brigade^ 
but the eiieniy not thinking it adviseable to pursue, he 
fell back, according to previous arrangements, and 
formed on the left of my entrenchments. I feel a 
pride in the belief, that the stand made on Monday, 
in no small degree, tended to check the temerity of 
a foe, daring to invade a country like ours. Major 
General Ross the commander in chief of the British 
forces, was killed in this action. About the time 
Gen. Strieker joined my left, he was joined by Gen. 
Winder, (who had been stationed on the west sme of 
the city,) with gen. Douglass' brigade of Virginia 
militia, and the U. S. Dragoons, who took post on 
the left of gen. Strieker. Meanwhile, gens. Stans- 
bury and Forman, the seamen and marines under 
com. Rodgers, the Pennsylvania volunteers under 
cols. Cobean and Findley, the Baltimore artillery 
under col. Harris, and the marine artillery under 
capt. Stiles, manned the trenches and batteries — all 
prepared to meet the enemy. 

On Tuesday the enemy appeared in front of my 
entrenchments, at the distance of two miles, on the 
Philadelphia road, and attempted by a circuitous 
route, to march against our left, and enter the city ; 
gens. Winder and Strieker were ordered to adapt 
their movements so as to defeat their intentions, which 
completely succeeded. This movement induced the 
enemy to concentrate his forces by one or two o'clock, 
in ray front, pushing his advance to within a mile of 
our videltes, and shewing an intention of attacking 
us that evening. 1 drew gens. Winder and Strieker 
nearer to the left of my entrenchments, and to the 
right of the enemy, with the intention of falling on 
his rear, should he attack me ; or, if he declined it, 
of attacking him in the morning. To this movement, 
and my defences, which the enemy had the fairest 
opportunity of observing, I attribute his retreat, 
which was commenced at one o'clock, the next morn- 
ing, in which he was so favored, by the extreme 
darkness, and continued rain, that we did not discov- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 323 

€rit until day light. A considerable detachment was 
sent in pursuit, but the troops being so worn down by 
fatigue, that they could do nothing more than pick 
up a few straglers ; they completed their embarka- 
tion the next day at 1 o'clock. 

I have now the pleasure of calling your attention to 
the brave commander of fort McHenry, Maj. Ar- 
mistead, and to the operations in that quarter. 

Maj. Armstead had under his conunand one com- 
pany of U. S.' artillery, two do. sea fencibles ; three 
do. of Baltimore artillery, a detachment from Com. 
Barney's flotilla, and about 600 militia, in all about 
1000 men. 

On the 12th, 16 ships, including 5 bomb ships, 
anchored about two miles from the fort. The next 
morning, at sunrise, the enemy conuiienced the at- 
tack from his bomb vessels, at the distance of two 
miles, which was out of our reach. At 2 o'clock 
one of our gnus was dismounted which occasioned 
considerable bustle in the fort, killing one and wound- 
ing several, which induced Uie enemy to draw his 
ships within a good striking distance, when the Maj. 
opened a well directed tire upon them for half an 
hour, which caused them to haul offlo their old posi- 
tion, when our brave little band gave three cheers, 
and again ceased firing. Availing themselves of the 
darkness of the night, they had pushed a considerable 
force above the fort, and formed in a half circle, 
when they commenced firing again which was retnrn- 
ed with spirit, for more than two hours, when the 
enemy were again obliged to haul ofi". 

Durmg the bombardment, which lasted 25 hour*, 
on the part of the enemy, from 15 to 1800 shells were 
thrown by the enemy ; 400 of which fell in the fort, 
threatening destruction to all within, but wonderful 
as it may appear only 4 of our men were killed, and 
24 wounded. I have the honor &c. S. SMITH. 
American Loss. 
Killed, 24— Wounded, 90— Missing, 47. 

Brilish Loss. 
Killed, 97 Womided, 165 Prisoners, 136 



324 HISTORY OF THE WAK. 

Gen. Jackson to the Svcrelary of IVar. 

Mobile, Seplem. er 17, 1314. 

[Ea^tract.] SIR — With lively emotions of satis- 
faction, 1 communicate that success has crovvnetl the 
gallant ellorts of our brave soldiers, m resistuig ar.d 
repulsing- a combined British naval and land force, 
which on the 15ti» inst. attacked FortBow>er, on the 
point of Mobile 

The shij) which was destroyed, was the Hermes, 
of from 24 to 28 gULS, Captain the Ion. TV ui. H. 
Percy, senior officer in the Gulf of Mexico ; and the 
brig so considerably damaoed is the Sojihie, 18 guns. 
The olher ship was the Carron, of from 24 to 28 
guns ; the other br g's name unknown. 

On board the C.irron, 85 men were killed and 
wounded ; among whom was Col. Nicoll, of the 
Royal Marines, who lost an eye by a splinter. The 
land force consisted of 110 maripts, and 200 Cieek 
ladians, under the command of Capt. Woodbine, of 
the marines, and about 20 artiberists, with one four 
and an half inch howitzer, from which they discharg- 
ed shells and nine |>ound shot. They re-embarked 
the piece, and retreated by land towards Pensacola, 
whence they came. 

By ihe morning report of the 16th, there were 
present in the fort, fit for duty, officers and men, 158. 
I have the honor to be, 6cc. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 

Gen. Brown to the Secretary of War. 

Fort Erie, Sept. 29th, 1814. 

\Extract.'] SIR — In my letter of the 18ih inst. I 
briefly informed you of the fortunate issue of the sor- 
tie which took place the day [)receding. 

The enemy's camp 1 had ascertained to be situated 
in a field surrounded by woods nearly two miles dis- 
tant from their batteries and entrendmients, the olv 
ject of which was to keep the parts of the force which 
was not upon duty, out of the range of our fire from 
Fort Erie and Black-Rock. Their infantry was 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 5325 

formed into three brigades, esliraated at 12 or 15 hun- 
dred men each. One of these brigades, with a de. 
tail from their artillery, was stationed at their works, 
( h -se bemg- aliout 60;> yards distant from old Fort 
Kiie, and the right of our line.) We had already 
sutil red much from the lire of two of their batteries, 
an I were aware that a third was about to Ojien uport 
us, Under these circumstances, I resolved to stonn 
the batteries, destroy the cannon, and roughly handle 
the brigade Uj)on duty, before those in reserve could 
be bioagnt into action. 

Oil the morning of the I7lh, the infantry and rifle- 
in"M, regulars and mihtia, were ordered to be |»ara* 
ded and |)ut in readiness to march precisely at 12 
o'clock. Gen. Porter with the volunleers, Col. Gib- 
son With the riflemen, and M ijor Brooks with the 
23d and 1st infantry, and a few dragoons acting as 
infantry, were ordered to move from the extreme letl 
of oiir position upon the enemy's right, by a passage 
opened through the woods for the occasion. Gen. 
Miller was directed to station hs command in the ra- 
vine which lies between Port Erie and the enemy's 
batteries, by passing them by detachments througlithe 
skirts of the wood — and the 2 1st intantry under Gen. 
Rijdey was posted as a corps of reserve between the 
new bastions of Fort Erie ; all under cover, and out 
of die view of the enemy. 

About 20 minutes before 3, P. M. I found the left 
columns, under the command of Gen. Porter, which 
were destined to turn the enemy's right, within a tew 
rods of the British entrenchments. They were or- 
dered to advance and commence the action. Passing 
down the ravine, I judged from the report of mus- 
quetry that the action had commenced on our left ; I 
now hastened to Gen. M dler, and directed him to 
seize the moment and pierce the enemy's entrench- 
ment between batteries No. 2 and 3. My orders were 
p omptly and ably executed. Within 30 minutes af- 
ter the first gun was tired, batteries No. 2 and 3, the 
enemy's line of entrenchments, and his two block 



i326 HISTORY OF THE AVAR. 

liouses, were in our possession. Soon after batlerv 
]Xo. 1 was abandoned by the British. The g-uns in 
each were spiked by us, or otherwise destroyed, and 
the magazine of No 3 was blown up. 

A few minutes before the explosion, I had ordered 
up the reserve under Gen. Ripley. As he passed 
me at the head of his column, 1 desired him as he 
would be the senior in advance, to ascertain as near 
as possible, the situation of the troops m general, and 
to have a care that not more was hazarded than the 
occasion required : that the object of the sortie ef- 
fected, the troops would retire in good order, &c. 
Gen. Ripley passed rapidly on — soon after, 1 became 
alarmed for Gen. Miller, and sent an order for the 
21st to hasten to his support towards battery No. 1. 
Col. Upham received the order, and advanced to the 
aid of Gen. Miller. Gen. Ripley had inclined to the 
left, where Major Brooks' command was engag-ed, 
with a view of making some necessary enquiries of 
that officer, and in the act of doing so was unfortu- 
nately wounded. By this time the ubject of the sor- 
tie was accomplished beyond my most sanguine ex- 
pectations. Gen. Mdler had consequently ordered 
the troops on the right to fall back — observing this 
movement, I sent my staff along the line to call in the 
other corps. Within a few minutes they retired from 
the ravine, and from thence to camp. 

Thus lOUO regulars and an equal portion of mili- 
tia, in one hour of close action, blasted the hopes of 
the enemy, destroyed the fruits of oO d.iys labor, and 
diminished his effective force 1000 men at least. 

Lieut. Gen. Drummond broke up his camp during 
the night of the 21st, and retired to his entrenchments 
behind the Chippewa. A party of our men came 
up with the rear of his army at Frenchman's creek ; 
the enemy destroyed part of their stores by setting 
fire to the buildings from which they were employed 
in conveying them. We found in and about their 
camp a considerable quantity of cannon ball, and up* 
%vards of 100 stand of arms. 



HISTORY OF THE WAK. 327 

. I send yoii enclosed herein a return of our loss. 
I'he return of prisoners enclosed does not include the 
stra«jgiers that came in after the action. 
I have the honor to be, &c 

JACOB BROWN. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed 79 — wounded 214 — missing 218. 

BRITISH LOSS. 

Killed 271— wounded 3 LI— Prisoners 38-3. 

Gen. Macomb to tJie Secretary of War. 

Plaltsburgh, .Sept. 12, 1814. 

\E,xtract.~\ SIR — 1 ha\e the honor to mform you 
tliat the British army commanded by Sir George 
Prevost, consisting of four brigades, a corps of artd- 
lery; a squadron of horse, and a stiong light corps, 
amounting in all to 14,000 men, after m vesting this 
place on the north of the Saranac river since the 5th 
inst. broke up their camp and raised the siege this 
morning at 2 o'clock, retreating precipitately, and- 
leaving their sick and wounded behind. The strength 
of this garrison is oidy 1500 men fit for duty. 

The light troops and militia are in full pursuit of 
the enemy, making prisoners in all directions. Up- 
wards of 300 deserters have already come in, and 
many arrive hourly. Our loss in the fort is trifling 
indeed, having only one officer and 15 men killed, 
and one officer and 30 men wounded. 

Vast quantities of provision were left behind and 
destroyed, also an immense quantity of bomb shells, 
cannon ball, grape shot, ammunition, flints, &c. 8cc. 
intrenching tools of all sorts, also tents and marquees. 
A great deal has been found concealed in the ponds 
and creeks, and bupied in the ground, and a vast 
quantity carried oft" by liie inhabitants. Such was 
the precipitance of his retreat, that he arrived atCha- 
zy, a distance of eight miles before we discovered 
that he had gone. 

We have buried the British officers of the army 
and navy, with the honors of war, and .shewn every 



328 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

attention and kindness to those who have fallen into 
our hands. The conduct ot the officers, non-com- 
missioned officers and soldiers of ni}' command, (iur- 
ingthis trying occasion cannot be represented in loo 
high terms. 1 have the honor to he, Sec. 

ALEXANDER MACOMB. 

A31EKICAN LOSS. 

Killed 37 — wounded 62— missing 20. 

BKlTiSH LOSS. 

Killed 368-wounded 49 4--prisoners 2o2-deserled786 

Capt. Blalieley to the Secretary of the Navy. 

U S. S. Wasp, L'Orienl, July 8, 1814. 

SIR- On Tuesday the 28ti; ult. bemg then ni lat- 
itude 48, y6 N. and long. 11, 15 VY. we fell in with, 
engaged, and alter an i.ction of 19 mnutes, captured 
his Britaiiuic \ ajesty's sloop of war Reindeer, Wil- 
liam Mrinners, Esq. commander. 

At half past 1;^, P. M. the enemy shewed a blue 
and white flag diagonally at the fore, and fired a gun. 
At 1, 15, Ccdicd all hands to quaiters and prepared 
for action; 1,22, believii-g we could weather tbe en- 
emy, tacked ship and stood for him ; 1, 50 the ene- 
my tacked ship and stood from us ; 1, 5(5, hoisted our 
coiors and fired a gun to wind v> aid ; at 2, 20, the en- 
emy still standing trom us, set the royals; at 9, 25, 
set the flying gib ; at 2, 29, set the upper staysails; 
at 2, 32, the enemy having tacked for us took in the 
staysads ; at 2, 47, furled the royals ; at 2, 51, seeing 
that the enemy would be able to weather us, tacked 
ship; at 3, 3, the enemy hoisted his flying gib — brail- 
ed up our mizen ; at 3, 15, the enemy on our weather 
quarter, distant about 00 yards, fired his shitting gun, 
a 12 pound carronade at us, loaded with round and 
grape shot from his top-gallant torecaslle ; at 3,17, 
fired the same gun a second time ; at 3, 19, fired it a 
third time ; at 3, 21, fired it a fourth time ; at 3, 24, 
a fifth shot, all from the same gun. Finding the en- 
emy did not get sufliciently on the beam to cnvibleus 
to bring our j>uns to bear, put the helm a-lee, and at 
20 minutes after 3, commenced the action with the af- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 329 

tet* carronade on the starboard side, and ifired in snc- 
cession ; at 3, 34, hauled np the mainsail ; at 3, 40,, 
the enemy having- his hirboard bow in coi.tact uith 
our larboard qnarttrr e ideavored to boaid ns, but was 
repulsed in every altempt ; at 3, 44, orders were s^iv- 
en to board in turn, which were promptly executed, 
when all resistance immediately ceased, and at 3, 46, 
the eneniv haaletl down his flag-. 

The Reindeer mounted sixteen 24 lb. carronades, 
two long 6 or pounders, and a shiftinj^ 12 lb. car- 
ronade, with a com|)lement on board of 118 men. 
Her crew was said to be the pride ot Plymouth. 

The Reindeer was literally cut to pieces in a line 
wilh her ports : her upperworUs, boats and spare 
spars were one com[)lete wreck. — A breeze springing- 
up the next afternoon her foremast went by the board. 

Having received all the prisoners on board, which 
from the nuudDer of wounded occupied much lime, 
t«»gether with their baggage, the Reindeer was on the 
evening of the 29th S(4 on fire, and in a few hours 
blew up. I have the honor to be. Sec 

J. BLAKELEY- 
Amprican Loss. — Killed 5 — wounded 21. 
British Loss. — Killed 23 — wounded 42. 

Cajyt. Blakelei/ to the Secret art/ of the Navtj. 
U. S.' S. Wasp, at sea, Sept. 11,1814. 
\Kxf.racl^^ SIR — I have the honor of informing 
Vou of the destruction of H. B. IM. brig Avon,of 18guns 
by this ship on the 1st inst. At 0, 30 minutes P. M. 
discovered 4 sail -, 2 on our starboard, and 2 on our 
larboard bow ; hauleil np for one on our starboard 
bow, being farthest to windward. At 7, the brig 
made signals, with flags, lanterns, rockets, and guns. 
At 9, 29, the chase being under our lee bow, com- 
menced the action by tiriiig a 12 lb. carronade at 
him, which he returned, when we run under his lee, 
bow to prevent his escaping. At 10, beiieving the 
enemy to be silenced, ceased tiring, and hailed and 
asked if he had s-arrendered. No answer being giv- " 
42 



330 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

en, and he having- recommenced firing', it was return^ 
ed. At 10, 12, the enemy having suffered greatly, 
and having* made no return to our two last broadsides, 
I hailed the second time, when he answered in the 
afiirmative. The guns were then ordered to be se- 
cured, and the boat lowered to take possession. In 
the act ot" lowering the boat, a second brig was dis- 
covered close under our stern, and standing for us. 
Sent the crew to quarters, and prepared for another 
action, and waited his coming up. At 10, 36, dis- 
covered two more sails astern, standing for us. Our 
braces having been cut away, we kept off the wind, 
until others could be rove, with the expectation of 
drawing the second brig from his companions, but was 
disappointed ; having continued approaching us until 
within gun shot she suddenly hauled by the wind, fir- 
ed a broadside, which done considerable damage, 
and soon retraced her steps to join her consorts. Our 
prize, when we abandoned her, was firing guns of 
distress ; the two last sails came to her assistance, in 
time to save her crew from sinking with the vessel, 
which went down soon afterwards. I have the hon- 
or to be, &c. J. BLAKELE Y. 
American Loss. — Killed, 2 — wounded, 1. 
JbrUish Loss. — Killed, 12 — wounded 33. 

Gen. 31' Arthur to the Secretary of War. 
Head-Q,narters, Detroit, Nov. 18, 1814. 

[Extract.^ SIR I have the honor of reporting to 
you the safe return of fche mounted troops to this place. 

It was deemed expedient, from the arder of the 
Kentucky and Ohio volunteers and militia, that they 
should be actively employed in the enemy's terlrtory, 
with a view to destroy their resources, and paraliae 
any attempt they might make on this post during 
the winter. Accordingly (530 troops, and 70 Indians, 
were put in motion to destroy the valuable mills at 
the head of Lake Ontario, and Grand River. We 
proceeded over the river Si. Clair, down to the Scotch 
Settlement, up Bear Creek, abovit 30 miles, and a 



HISTORY OF THE AVAR. 3Si 

cross to the Moravian towns, where we arrived the 
3Utli ult. 

We were fortunate at this phice in taking- a Bri- 
tish officer who was proceeding to Burliu«!:ton witii 
the information of our aj)proach, which enabled 
us to reach Delaware town undiscovered. Tlie ran- 
gers were dettiched across the Thames, to pass in 
rear of the town, to guard the different roads, whilst 
the troops were swimming their horses across. We 
were thus enabled to reach Oxford, 150 miles from 
Detroit, before they heard of our approach. A few 
hours before our arrival at Buford, the enemy retreat- 
ed to Malcom's mills, on the road to Burlington 
where they were reinforced, to the number of «jOO 
ifiilitia, and about 100 Indians. A deep creek of 
difficult passage, except at a bridge immediately in 
front of their works, which had been partly destroyed, 
lay between us. Arrangements were made for a joint 
attack o\\ their front and rear. The Ohio troops were 
thrown across, under cover o( a thick wood, and the 
Kentucky troops were ordered to attack in front. 
The enemy were entirely defeated and dispersed, with 
the loss of 1 Capt. and 1 7 privates killed, and 3 Capts. 
5 subalterns, and 103 privates, taken prisoners. Our 
loss was only one killed, and six wounded. The 
next day we proceeded on and took several prisoners, 
200 stand of arms, and destroyed five valuable mills, 
when we commenced our return much for this place, 
which we reached yesterday. 

I have the honor to be, &c. D. M' ARTHUR. 



CHAPTER Xlir. 

Gen. Jackson to Gov. Early. 

Head-Quarters, Tensaw, Nov. 14th, IS 14. 

[Extract.^ SIR — O.i iast evening I returned from 

Pensacola to this piace — I reached th it post on the 

evening of the 0th. On my approach, 1 sent Maj. 

Pierre with a flag to communicate the object of my 



yS2 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

visit loll'e Gov. of Peiisacola. Ke approached fort 
St. George, with his flag- clisphiyecl, and was iired oii- 
by the ca.inoii iroiii the tori — :ie reluriied and luatle 
report thereof to me. 1 inmitdiate!)' wtht with the 
Adj. Gen. and the Maj. with a sn»all escort, and 
viewed the fort and found it defended by British and 
Spanisli troops. I immediately determined to storm 
the town. 

On the morning of the 7th I marched with the 
effective regnhirs of the 3d, 39lh, and 44th infantry, 
part of Gen. Coffte's hrigade, the Mississippi dra- 
goons, and part of tlie West Tenessee regiment, and 
partoftheChoctaws led by Maj. Bhie, of the 39th 
and Maj. Kennedy of Mississippi territory. Being 
encanjped on tjie west of the town I calculated they 
would expect the assault from that quarter, and be 
, prepared to rake me from the fort, and the British 
armed vessels, seven in number, that lay in the bay. 
To cherish this idea 1 sent out part oftlie mounted 
men to show themselves on tiie west, whilst I passed in 
rear of the fort undiscovered to the east of the town. 
When 1 appeared within a mile, I was in full view. 
My pride was never more heightened than viewing 
the unilorm tiimnessof my troops, and with what un- 
daunted courage they advanced, with a strong fort 
ready to assail them on the right, 7 British armed ves- 
sels on the leff, and strong blockhouses and batteries of 
cannon in their front, b'lt they still advanced with 
unshaken hrmness, entered the town, when a battery 
of tw'o cannon was opened upon the centre column 
composed of the regulars, w.th ball and grape, and a 
shower of musketry from the houses and gardens. 
The battery was inmiediately stornud by Cajtl. Le- 
vall and company, and carried, and the musketry 
was soon silenced by the steady and v^eli direcleti tue 
of the regulars. 

I'he Gov. met Cols. Williamson and Smith, who 
led the dismounted voluntens, with a flag, begged 
for mercy, and surrendered the town aiul fort uncon- 
ditionally ; mercy was granted and protection given 
to the citizens and their property. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 333 

. On the niornincr of the 8lli I prepared to march and 
storai liie B «raiicas, btilb lore I could move treuieiicl- 
ous expios.oiis told ine that I he Baraucas, with all its 
appeiidaovs, was blown up. I dispalched a detach- 
ment ol" two huiidieil men to explore it, who returutd 
in the nig'itt witn die iiitorniation that it was b.own up, 
uU the combustible parts barnt, the cannon spiked 
a!id dismounted except two : this being" the case, I 
determined to withdraw my troops, but before 1 <lid I 
had the pleai^ure to see the British depart. 

The steady hiinness of my lrt>oj>s has drawn a just 
respect (rom our enemies — It has convinced the Red 
Slicks that they have no stroiii^' h')ltl or protection, 
only in the friendship of the U. S The good order 
and conduct of my troops whdsl in Pensacoia, has con- 
vinced the Spaniards of our friendship, and prowess, 
and has drawn from the citizens an expr. ssion 
that our Ciioctaws are more civilized than the British. 

1 have the honor to be, \.c. 

ANiJUEW JACKSON. 

Gen. Jackson lo the Secretary of War. 
Head-Q,iMrlers, NevN -Orleans, Dec. 27, 1814. 
\_Extract.\ SIR — I have the honor to intorm you 
of the result ot the action on the 23d. Tlie loss of 
our gun boats near the pass of the Hii^Dlets, having 
given the enemy command of lake Borgne, he was 
enabled to choose his point of attack. It became, 
therefore an object of importance to obstruct the nu- 
merous bayous and canals leading from that lake, 
to the highlands on the Mississippi. This important 
service was committed to Major Gen. Villere com- 
manding the district between the river and the lakes, 
and who, being a native of the country, was presum- 
ed to be best acquainted with ail those passes. Un- 
fortunately, however, a picquet whicli the Gen. had 
established at the mouth of the bayou Bienvenu, and 
which notwithstanding my orders had been left un- 
obstructed, was completely surprised, and the enemy 
penetrated through a canal leading to his farm, about 
two leagues beiow the city, and succeeded in cutting 



334 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

ofFa company of militia stationed there. — This inte]. 
ligence was communicated tome about 12 o'clock on 
the 22d. My force at this time did not exceed in all 
1500. I arrived near the enemy's encampment about 
seven, and immediately made my dispositions for the 
attack. His forces amounting- at that time on land to 
about 3000, extended half a mile on the river, and in 
the rear nearly to the wood. Gen.Coifee was ordered 
to turn their right, while with the residue of the force 
I attacked his strongest position on the left near the 
river. 

Com. Patterson having dropped down the river in 
the schooner Caroline, was directed to open a fire up- 
on their camp, which he executed at about half after 
seven. Tins being the signal of attack. Gen. Coffee's 
men with their usual impetuosity, rushed on the en- 
emy's right and entered their camp, while our right 
advanced with equal order. A thick fog arose about 
8 o'clock occasioning some confusion among the dif- 
ferent corps. Fearing the consequences, under this 
circumstance, of the prosecution of a night attack 
with troops then acting together for the first time, I 
contented myself with lying on the field that night; 
and at four in the morning assumed a stronger posi- 
tion about two miles nearer the city. 

In this affair the whole corps under my command 
deserve the greatest credit. The best complement 
I can pay to Gen. Coffee and his brigade is to say 
they have behaved as they have always done while 
under my command. The two field pieces were well 
served by the oflficer commanding- them. 

We have made 1 major, 2 subalterns, and sixty- 
three privates prisoners. I have the honor, &c. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 
American Loss. — Killed and wounded 100. 
British Loss. — Killed (k wounded 344, prisoners 66. 

G(n. Jackson to the Secretary of War. 
Head-Q,ir.iiters, New-Orleans, Jan. 13, 1815. 
\Extract.\ SIR — At such a crisis I conceive it my 
duty to keep you constantly advised of my situationi<* 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 336 

Early on the morning' of the 8th, the enemy having 
been actively employed the two preceding days in 
making preparations for a storm, advanced in two 
strong columns on my right and left. They were re- 
ceived iiowever, with a firmness which seems, they lit- 
tle expected, and which defeated all their hopes. 
My men undisturbed l)y their approach, which indeed 
they long anxiously wished for, opened upon them a 
fire so deliberate and certain, as rendered their scal- 
ing ladders and fascines, as well as their more direct 
implements of warfare, perfectly useless. For up- 
wards of an hour it was continued with a briskness of 
which there have been but few instances, perhaps, in 
any country. In justice to the enemy it must be said, 
they withstood it as long as could have been expected 
from the most determined bravery. At length how- 
ever when all prospect of success became hopeless, 
they fled in confusion from the field — leaving it cov- 
ered with their dead and wounded. 

My loss was inconsiderable ; being only *seven 
killed and six wounded. 

Such a disproportion in loss, when we consider the 
number and the kind of troops engaged, must, I 
know, excite astonishment, and may not, every where, 
be fully credited : yet I am perfectly satisfied that the 
account is not exaggerated on the one part, nor un- 
derrated on the other. 

Whether after the severe losses he has sustained, 
he is preparing to return to his shipping, or to make 
still mightier eft'orts to attain his first object, I do 
not pretend to determine. It becomes me to act as 
though the latter were his intention. One thing, 
however, seems certain, that if he still calculates on 
cft'ecting what he has hitherto been unable to accom- 
plish he must expect considerable reinforcements as 
the force with which he landed, must undoubtedly be 
diminished by at least 3000. Besides the loss which 
he sustained on the night of the 23d ultimo, which is 
estimated as four hundred, he cannot have suffered 

* This rvas in the action on the line — afterwards a skirmishing 
'Vas fcept lip in which ujhr more q/'oiir men T:ere.l.ost. 



830 History of the war. 

less between that period and llie tnoniing of ihe 8lb 
irist, than 300; h-.ivino- within that time, been repulsed 
in two general attempts to drive us from our position, 
and there having been continual cannonading and 
skirmishing, during the whole of it. Yet he is stiH 
abie to show a very formidable force. 

The commanding Gen. Sir Edward Packenhara 
was killed in the action of the 8lh, and Maj. Gtns. 
Kf an and Gibbs were mortally wounded. 

I have the honor to be, ^kr. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 
American Loss — Killed 7 — wounded (3. 

BrUisli Loss — Killed 700 — wounded 1400 — pris- 
oners 500. 

Lieut. Shields to Com. Patterson* 
{Extract.] JNew Orleans, Jan. 25th, 1815. 

SIR — T have the honor of rept rtingthe result of 
the expedition orden-d by you on the 17th inst. The 
19th, at night, I left the Pass Cheuf Menteur, having 
made the necessary observations on the enemy before 
dark, wtlh5 boats and your gig, n anned with 50 men. 
At 10. P. M. captured a boat by surprize, manned 
■with ^5 men. The number of prisoners exceeding 
my men, I thougiit it most prudent to land them, to 
prevent weakening my force, which was accordingly 
done, and the prisoners were put into the charge of 
the army at the Pass. The 21st, at day light, I again 
fell into the track of the ileet. Finding it impossible 
to make any captures, witliout being discovered, I 
determined to run down among' them, and strike at 
every opportunity — hoisted English colors, and took 
a transport boat with 5 men ; ordered her to follow, 
and stood for a transport Schooner, with 10 nien-> 
which I boarded with 8 men, and took without op- 
position. From 9, to 12 o'clock, we were in the 
midst of their boats, and succeeded m taking 5 more, 
with about /Omen. The enemy's loss on this occa- 
sion w as 140 prisoners, 7 boats and llransport Schoon- 
er. 1 have the honor to be, &c. 

THO. SHIELDS 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 337 

Sailin(/- Master Johnson to Com. Patterson. 

New-Orleans, Jan. 7th, IHlo. 
[Extract.] SIR — I have the pleasure of informing- 
yon of my succeeding' in destroyinij a transport l)rig 
in lake Borgne, yesterday, at 4. A. M. Ot» thi^ otii 
inst. I proceeded down to the east month oi the Pass, 
to ascertain the enemy's (»osition ; finding at anclior 
there one brig, 3 guidioats, 3 Schooners, and several 
barges, the brig lying a mde distant from the oljurs, 
I returned, and determnied on making- an altenipt to 
destroy her. M . crew now amounted to 38 men ; 
with this force [ was confident I should be able to 
destroy her, although I had been previously inlorm- 
ed she mounted 4 peices of canno i.and equipped ac- 
cordingly. On the 6th at 4, \. M. we boarded the 
brijr, her crew consistniij of a Ciot. a sading-niaster, 
and 8 marines, making no resistance. It Demg nearly 
daylight, I ordered*the |)risonersiiito my boat, and set 
fire to die brig, which proved to be the C^rus, loaded 
with rum, bread, and soldiers clothing. 
I have the honor to be, kc. 

WM. JOHNSON. 

ADDRESS, 

Directed hy Major General Jackson to be read at the 
head of each of the corps tomposiny the line below 
New-Orleans, Jan. 21, 1815. 

Citizens and fellow soldiers! The enemy has re- 
treated, and your general has now leisure to pro- 
ctaitu to the world what he has noticed With adnnia- 
tion and pride — your undaunted courage, your patri- 
otism, and patience, under hardships and fatig'.ies — 
Natives of different States, acting together for the lirst 
time in this camp; differing in habits and in lan- 
ffuajie, instead of viewinff in these circumstances \he 
germ of distrust and division, you have made tl.em the 
source of an honorable emulation, and irom the seeds 
of discord itself have reaped the fruits of an honora- 
ble union. This day completes the fourth week since 
fifteen hundred of you attacked treble your mimber 
43 



338 HISTORY OF THEi WAK. 

of men, mIio had boasted of their discipline and their 
services under a celebrated leader, in a long, and 
eventful war — attacked them in their camp, the mo- 
ment they had profaned the soil of freedom with their 
hostile tread, and inflicted a blow which was a pre- 
lude to the final result of their attempt to conquer, or 
their poor contrivances to divide us. A few hours 
was sufficient to unite the gallant band, though at the 
moment they received the welcome order to march, 
they were separated many leagues, in different direc- 
tions from the city. The gay rapidity of the march, 
and the cheerful countenances of the officers and men, 
would have induced a belief that some festive enter- 
tainment, not the strife of battle, was the scene to 
which they hastened with so much eagerness and hi- 
larity. In the conflict that ensued, the same spirit 
was supported, and my communication to the executive 
of the U. S. have testified the sease I eiiterlained of 
the merits of the corps and officers that were engag- 
ed. Resting on the field of battle, they retired in 
perfect order on the the next morning to these lines, 
destined to become the scene of future victories, which 
they were to share with the rest of you, my brave 
companions in arms. Scarcely were your lines a 
protection against musket shot, when on the 28th a 
disposition was made to attack them with all the 
pomp and parade of military tactics, as improved by 
those velerans^of the Spanish war. 

Their batteries of heavy cannon kept up an inces-, 
sant fire ; their rockets illuminated the air ; and under 
their cover two strong columns threatened our flanks. 
The foe insolently thought that this spectacle was too 
imposing to be resisted, and in the intoxication of his 
pride he already saw our lines abandoned without a 
contest— how were those menacing appearances met? 

By shouts of defiance, by a manly countenance, 
not to be shaken by the roar of his cannon, or by the 
glare of his firework rockets ; by an artillery served 
with superior skill, and with deadly eflect. JNever, 
my brave friends, can your Gen. forget the tetimoni- 
als ofallaclmient to ourglorious cause of indignant hat- 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 339 

red to our foe, of effectionate confidence in your chief, 
that resounded from every rank, as he passed a'ong- 
your hue. This animating scene damped the cour- 
Jig-e of the enemy ; he dropped his scahnuj ladders 
and fascines, and the threatened attack dwindled in- 
to a demonstration, which served only to shew the 
emptiness of his parade, and to inspire you with a 
just confidence in yourselves. 

The new year was ushered in witii the most tro- 
mendious fire his whole artillery could produce, a 
few hours only, however, were necessary for the brave 
and skilful men who directed our own to dismount 
his cannon, destroy his batteries, and effectually si- 
lence his fire. Hitherto, my brave friends, in the 
contest on our lines, your courage had been passive 
only ; you stood with calnmess, a hre that would 
have tried the firmness of a vetran, and you anticipa- 
ted a nearer contest with an eagerness which was soon 
to be gratified. 

On the 8th of Jan. the final effort was made. At 
the dawn of day the batteries opened and the columns 
advanced. Knowing that the volunteers from Ten- 
nessee and the militia from Kentucky were stationed 
on your left, it was there they directed their chief at- 
tack. 

Reasoning always from false principles, they ex- 
pected little opposition from men whose officers even 
were not in uiiilorm, who were ignorant of the rules 
of dress, and who had never been caned into disci- 
pline — fatal mistake ! a fire incessantly kept up, di- 
rected with calmness and with unerring aim, strewed 
the field with the bravest officers and men of the col- 
umn which slowly advanced, according to the most 
approved rules of European tactics, and was cut 
down by the untutored courage of American militia. 
Unble to sustain this galling and unceasing fire, some 
hundreds nearest the entrenchment called for quarter, 
which was granted — the rest retreating, were rallied 
at some <listance, but only to make them a surer mark 
for the grape and cannister shotofourartdlery, which, 
without exaggeration, mowed down whole ranks al 



340 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

every discharge : and at length they precipirtalely re- 
tired from the Held. 

Our n^ht had only a short contest to sustain with 
a few rash naen who fatally for ihemselvts, forced their 
entrance nito the unfinished redouht on the river. 
They were quickly dispossessed, and this e^lorious day 
termnrated with the loss to the enemy of their com- 
mander in chief and one Maj. Gen. killed, another 
Maj. Gen. wounded, the mostexjerienced ai.d bravest 
of tlieir officers, and more than three thousand men 
killed, wounded and missing", whde our ranks, my 
friends, were thinned only b) the loss of six of our 
bra\e comp-.inions killed and seven disabled by 
wounds — wonderful mtei*position of Heaven ! unex- 
ampled event m the history of war ! 

Let us he grateful to the God of battles who has di- 
rected the arrows of indignation against our invaders 
while he covered with his protecting shield the brave 
defenders of their country. 

After this unsuccesslul and disastrous attempt, their 
spirits were broken, their force was destroyed, and 
their whole attention was employed in providing the 
means of esca|)e. This they have etfected ; leaving 
their hea\y artillery in our power, and many of their 
woumted to our clemency. The consequences of this 
short, but decisive campaign, are incahulably im[)or- 
tant. The pride of our arrogant enemy humbled, 
bisforces broken, his leaders killed, his insolent hopes 
of our disunion frustrated — his expectation of rioting 
in our spoils and wasting our country^ changed into 
igi.ominious defeat, shameful flight, and a reluctant 
acknowledgment of the humanity and kindness of 
those whom he had doomed to all the horrors and hu- 
miliation 01 a coi.quered state. 

On the other side, unanimity established, disaftec- 
tion crushed, confidence restored, your country saved 
from conquest, your property from pillage, your wives 
and daughters troni insult and violation* — the union 
preserved from dismemberment, and perhaps a period 

* Previous to tlie attack Gen. Pacljentiam gave out for watcti- 
word, ' Beauty and Booty* and promised three days riot and plunder. 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 341 

put by this decisive stroke to a bloody and savage 
war. These, my brave tru^iuls, are the consequences 
oftheeftorts you have made, and the success with 
which they have been crowned by Heaven. 

Tljese important results have been effected by the 
luiited couratj^e and persexerance ot the arms ; but 
wliich the dilterent corps as well as the individuals 
that compose it, ha\y vied with each other in their 
exertions to produce. The g-ratitnde, the admi- 
ration of their country, offers a fairer reward than 
that which any praises of th>- Gen. can bestow, and the 
best is that of which they can never be dej)rved, the 
consciousness of haviiijj;- done their duty, and of merit- 
ing the applause they will receive. 

Com. Decatur to the Secretary of the Navy. 
H. B. M. Ship Endymion, at sea, Jan. 18, 1815. 
SIR — The pai iful duty of detailing- to you the 
particular causes which preceded and led to the cajj- 
tureof the late U S. frigate President by a squadron 
of his Br. tannic Majesty's ships* has devolved upon 
me. [n my communication of the 14lh, I made 
known my intention of proceeding to sea on that eve- 
ning. Owing- to some mistake of the pilots, the ship 
in going out grounded on the bar, where she continu- 
ed to strike hc^avily for an hour and a half; although 
she had broken several of her rudder braces, and had 
received such other material injury as to render her 
return into port desirable, I was unable to do so Irom 
the strong westerly wind which was then blowing-. 
We shaped our course along the shore of LMng-Isl- 
and for 50 miles, and then steered S. E. by E. At 
five o'clock, three ships were discovered ahead ; we 
immediately hauled up the ship and passed two miles 
to the northward of them. At day light, we discov- 
ered four ships in chase, one on each quarter, and two 
astern, tiie leading- ship of the enemy a razee — she 
commenced a tiie upon us but without effect. At 
meridian the wind became light and baffling; we 

t Majestic razee, Endymion^ Potnone, Tenedos, Dispatch {brig) 



34;^ HISTORY OP THE WAR. 

had increased our distance from the razee, but the 
next ship astern, which was also a large ship, had 
gained and continued to g-ain upon uscojisiderably ; 
we imnu-diately occupied all hands to lighten ship. 
At 3, we had the wind quite light ; the enemy who 
had now been joined by a brig, had a strong breeze, 
and were coming up with us rapidly. The Endy- 
inion (mounting oO guns, 24 pgjinders on the main 
deck) had now approached us within gun shot, and 
had commenced a tire with her bow guns, which we 
returned from our stern. At 5 o'clock she had ob- 
tained a position on our starboard quarter, within half 
point blank shot, on which neither our stern nor 
quiu'ter guns would bear ; I remained with her in 
this position for half an hour, in the hope that she 
"would close with us on our broadside, m which case 
I had prepared my crew to board, but from his con- 
tinuing to yaw his ship to maintain his position, it be- 
came evident that to close was not his intention. 
JEvery lire now cut some of our sails or rigging. To 
have continued our course under these circumstances, 
would have been placing it in his power to cripple us, 
without being sutiject to injury himself, and to have 
hauled up more to the northward to bring our stern 
guns to bear, would have exposed us to his raking 
lire. 

It was now dusk when I determined to alter my 
course south, for the purpose of bringing the enemy 
abeam, and although their ships astern were drawing 
up fast, I felt satisfied I should be enabled to throw 
him out of the combat before they could come up, and 
was not without hopes, if the night proved dark (of 
which there was every appearance) that I might still 
be enabled to effect my escape. Our opponent kept 
off at the same instant we did, and our tire commenc- 
ed at the same time. We continued engaged, steer- 
ing south with steering sails set two hours and a half, 
when we completely succeeded in dismantling her. 
Previously to her dropping entirely out of the action, 
there were intervals of minutes, when the ships were 
broadside and broadside, and in which she did not 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 343 

fire a gun. At this period, half past 8 o'clock, al- 
though dark, the other ships of the squadron were 
ill sight, and ahnost within gun shot. We were of 
course compelled to abandon her. In resuming our 
former course for I he purpose of avoiding the squad- 
ron, we were compelled to present our stern to our 
antagonist — hut such was his state, though we were 
thus exposed and within range of his guns for half an 
hour, that he did not avail himself of this favorable 
oj)portu;iitv of raking us. We continued this course 
until 1 1 o'clock, when two fresh ships of the enemy 
(the Pomona and Tenedos) had come up. The Po- 
mona had opened her fire on the larbuard bow, with- 
in musket shot ; the other wbout two cables' length 
astern, taking a raking position on our quarter j and 
the rest (with the exce[)tion of the El^'dymion) within 
gun shot. Thus situat<^d, with about one Hftli of my 
crew killed and wounded, my ship crippled, and a 
more than four-fold force opposed to me, without a 
chance of escape left, 1 deemed it my duty to sur- 
render. 

It is with emotions of pride [ bear testimony to the 
gallantry and steadiness of every officer ami man I 
had the honor to command on this occasion, and I 
feel satisfied that the fact of their havmg beaten a 
force equal to themselves, in the presence, and almost 
under the guns of so vastly a superior force, when, 
too, it was almost self-evident, that whatever their ex- 
ertions might be, they must ultimately be captured, 
will be taken as evidence of what they would have 
performed, had the force opposed to ihem been m any 
degree equal. 

For 24 hours after the action it was nearly calm, 
and the squadron were occupied in repairing the 
crippled ships. Such of the crew of the President as 
were not badly wounded, were jjut on board the dif- 
ferent ships ; myself and a part of my crew were put 
on board this ship. On the 17th we had a gale from 
the eastward, when this ship lost her bowsprit, fore 
and mam-masts, and mizen top-mast, all of which 
were badly wounded, and was, in consequence of 



34i HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

her disabled condition, obliged to throw overboard 
all her u per deck guns. 
1 have the honor to be, ^c. 

STEPHEN DECATUR. 
American Loss. — Kuled 24 — wounded 55, 
British Loss — Kdled 15 — wounded 28. 

Capt. Boyle to IMr. George P. Stephenson. 

Datt d at sea, March 2, 1815. 

[Extract.] SIR — I Isave the honor to inform vou, 
thai on the :26th of Feb. being about six leagues to 
windward of Havanna and 2 leagues from the land 
— ;it 1 !, A. M. discovered a schooner bearing N. E. 
ot us, apparently running before the wind ; made 
every possible sail in chase. At half past meridian 
I lired a gunman J hoisted the American flag, to as- 
certain, if possible, the nation which she belonged to, 
bul she shewed no colors. At 1,P. M. drawing up 
W:th hmi very fast, she fired astern chase gun at us, 
and hoisted English colors, slievvuig at the same time 
oidy three ports in the side next to us. 

Under the impression that she was a running vessel 
bound to Havanna, weakly armed and manned, I 
tried every eft'urt to close with him as quick as possi- 
ble. Saw very few men on hi;^ deck, and hastily 
made small preparation for action, though my officers, 
myself and men did not expect an\ fighting, of couise 
we were not completely prepared for action. At 1, 
26, we were within pistol shot of him when he open- 
ed a tier of ten ports on a side, and gave his broad- 
side V f round, grai>e and musket balls. 1 then open- 
ed the Chasseur's fire from the great guns and musk- 
etry, and endeavored to close with him for the j)ur- 
pose of boarding; we having quick way at this time, 
shot ahead of him under his lee; he put his helm up 
for the purpose of wearing across our stern and to 
give us a raking fire, which I prevented by timely 
taking notice of his intention, and putting our helm 
hard up also. He shot quick ahead, and I closed 
Within ten yards of him ; at this time both fires were 
heavy, severe and destructive. I now found his men 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 345 

had been concealed uader his hnlwark, and that I 
had a heavy enemv to contend with, and at 1, 40, g-ave 
the order for boardniuf, which my brave officers and 
men cheerfully obeyt'<l vvith unexaiuided quickness, 
instantly put the helm to starb >ard to lay him on 
board, and in the act of board int>- her, she surreiider- 
ed. She proved to be H B. Majesty's scliooae • .St. 
Lawrence, commanded by Lieut. James E. Ciortlon, 
of 15 guns, 14 twelve pound carronades upon an un- 
proved construction, and a long"ni,ie; 75 men, and 
had on board a number of so.diers, man les, and 
some gentlemen of the navy passengers; having l>y 
the report 15 killed and 23 wounded. 1 had 5 men 
killed, and 8 wounded, myself amongst the latter, 
though very slightly. Thus ended the action in 15 
minutes after its commencement, and about 8 minutes 
close quarters, with a force in every respect erjual to 
our own. 

The Chasseur mounts six 12 pounders, and eight 
short 9 pound carronades, (the latter taken from one 
of her prizes) ten of our 12 pound carronades having 
been thrown overboard while hard chased by the 
Burrosa frigate. Yours with respect, 

THOMAS BOYLE. 

Col. Scott to Governor Ear it/. 

Great Satill rner, Feb! 28, 1815. 
[Ex'trnct.^ SIR — I have the pleasure to inform 
yo»iof a brilliant atiair having taken place on the 24th 
inst. on the river St. Mary's between a part of mv de- 
tachment, 20 men, comnninded by Capt. Will. am 
Mickler, aided by about oO o: ttie Patriots of Flori- 
da, under Col. Dili, a. id ti of the enemy's barges, 
containing about 250 men, \\h ch hail attempted to 
proceed up the river to burn Mr. A C ark's mills. 
The enemy were iirst attacked by the Patriots from 
the Florida shore, near Camp P.nckney, when the 
barges immediately tacked about to retreat, but our 
men being in aml)ush o;i this shore gave them a se- 
cond reception, and thus tiie lire was kept up irora 
44 



846 HISTORY OF THE WAR. 

both shores until they got into a greater extent of riv' 
er than our riflemen could reach. Tlie enemy lost 
160 killed and wounded. — We had one man severely 
wounded through the body, and several received 
balls through their clothes, but no further injury. 

WILLIAM SCOTT. 

Sailing-master John HurJhurd to Com. Campbell, 
U. S. Gun Boat, No. 168, Cumberland Sound,) 

March 18, 1815. | 
\Extract.'] SIR. — Proceeding with the despatch 
which you did me the honor to entrust to ray care, I 
sailed from Tybee bar, at 1, P. M. on the 16th inst. 
wind N. E. steering south ; at half past 3 descried a 
sail in the S. E. quarter, which we soon found to be 
a ship standing N.N. W. about 40 minutes after she 
iired a gun and hoisted her colors, the shot passing 
over our fore gaff; our colors were hoisted, con- 
tinued our course for a few minutes, when anoth- 
er gun was fired ; the shot passed abaft the main rig- 
ging over the lee quarter. Heaving his vessel too on 
the starboard tack, hailed me by saying, ' you damn'd 
rascal, if you don't lower your boat down and come 
on board immediately, I'll fire into you, I'll sink you, 
God damn you.' Seeing me in the act of taking in 
the square sail, * why don't you heave to, God damn 
vou, I'll sink you ; I'll fire a broadside into you.* 
As soon as I could be heard I said, this is a tJ. S. 
ivessel, from Savannah, with despatches for Admiral 
Cockburn. In the act of pronouncing the last words, 
a musket was fired at me, the ball passed near my 
shoulders, over the hand of ihe man at the helm, strik- 
ing the water from twenty Lo thirty feet from the ves- 
sel. Putting the helm down, I again informed him 
of the character of the vessel, saying, if you wish for, 
further satisfaction you are at liberty to send your boat 
on board ; he said, * I don't care a damn for the des- 
patches nor Admiral Cockburn either; God damii 
them and the United States too; I'll fire a broadside 
into you and sink you, if you don't lower your boat 
down and come on board, you rascal.' Put about and 



HISTORY OF THE WAR. 347 

run close under the ship's lee, saying, 'this is tlie U. 
States' gun vessel No. 1(58, with despatches for the 
Admiral off St. Mary's ; if you doubt her being 
what she >)pearsto be, you can send your boat on 
board. Timing to uie, he says, * God damn you, 
come on board or Tli sink you — Til fire thunder mto 
you.' I replied, * if you do, 1 shall return your com- 
plements with lightning.' At this time I received, 
if possible, a greater flood of vulgar abuse than be- 
fore I hove about, stood to wmdward of him, heav- 
ing too on his starboard quarter, with the larboard 
tacks on board ; when a Lieut, came alongside, and 
ordered me into the boat, saying, * if you do not go 
on board, every one of you will be taken out and 
cixrried to Charleston.' Go on board and tell your 
commander that I shall not lower my boat, nor shall 
an officer or man leave the vessel, but by force, 
sho^ving hmi the paper for Admiral Cockburn. *If 
you don't go on board, you'll be sunk as soon as I go 
on board ; 1 advise you to go' — >' I want no advice, 
(said i) I have the orders of my government, by 
which I am governed ; tell your commander that 
such trifling shall not pass with impunity.' On the 
boat leaving us the Captain of the ship said, * won't 
the damned rascal come ? then come alongside and 
let me sink hun ; J'll fire a broadside into him.' On 
tlie boat's reaching the ship's side a gun was fired; 
the shot [)assing to leeward, through the mainsail, 
near the mast, cutting avvav one of the stays, going 
between the foremast and rigging i while he gave full 
vent to his vulgar abuse. I now saw every one of 
our little crew anxiously waiting the order to fire in- 
to the apparent enemv ; but I considered that several 
lives would in all probability be lost, and the flag 
struck at last. Under these considerations, I fired a 
gun across his bows, as the vessels were lying, sunk 
the signals, and hauled the colors down. A Lieut, 
came on board, to whom I made a formal surrender 
of the vessel ; he observed that he was only a Lieut. 
* Send an officer on board, (I replied) the officers and 
men are your prisoners.* He ordered me on board 



348 HISTORY or the v/ar. 

the ship. On m}' arrival on board the ship, I was 
met by the Capl. near the main mast, saying, this \s 
his majeslv s ship Erebns, Bartholomew, commaiider. 

* This IS my sword, (I repbed) that is the U. Slates 
gun vessel No. lt)8, which 1 surrender as your prize, 
m\seit, othcers and crew as your prisoners.' He 
said ag"Jiin, 'how dare you refuse to come on board 
bis majesty's ship when ordered ?' ' I know not nor 
do I acknowledge any right you have to order me 
on board, or to mlerrujit me sailing along the Amer- 
ican coast I sh;d', however, make a fair representa- 
tion of this most flagrant abuse of power on your part 
to my government. I very much regret that I have 
not the comma, id of a ve>.sel of 20 guns, which would 
save the trouble of demanding satisfaction at a future 
day, by taking it on thes ot.' He said, 'I only wish 
to warn you off tlie coast; wdi you see my orders 
from the Admiral to warn all vessels from the coast r*' 

* As I am guverned b\ the orders of my own gov- 
ernment, 1 can have nothing to do with those ot Ad- 
miral Cockburn.' He said ' 1 ihouiiht you might be 
from the Cape of Good Hope.' * You could not be- 
lieve any such thing, when you see she has no quar- 
ter, has not the appearaiice of having been at sea any 
length of time; her boats not stowed as if to remain 
long at sea; nor could you supj>ose that were I from 
a long crUize, I should run past the port of Savannah, 
thereby exposing my vessel to any British cruizer 
that might happen to be on the coast.' He then said 
*upon my honour, 1 believe it was an accident, but 
I am sure the last shot would not have been firt^l if 
you had not been tr^uigto run away from me.' ' You 
could believe no such thing; jou saw both gibs to 
"windward, aiul the helm a-lee.' He said, * upon my 
honor, I don't no whether it went off by accident or 
was fired, no orders were given to tire ' After v\ alk- 
ing the quarter-deck for a few minutes, reliirning, 
he said, * will you see my orders to warn all vessels 
off the coast.' * As I have nothing to do with I hem 
I can have no wisli to see them.' * I( you tlinik this 
\ydlcau9e any dis^jute between the two govenuueu^ 



HISTORY OP THE WAR. 349 

(said he) T will return with you to the Admiral and 
h:ive it settled.' I re, lied, ' I do not t'eel mysflf 
authorised in my present sitna'ioa to receive any sat- 
isfaction vou may iiave in your power to oftbr for such 
a wiltui insult offered to the U. Stalt.s.' I was then 
ordered on board, and lo proceed with the des- 
patches. JOHN HURLBUKD. 

Capt. Stewart to the Sccretari/ of the l\av?/. 
U. 8. tVijrale C )n.stitntion, M.iy, — 1815. 

SIR— 0.1 the 20th oi February last, (he Island of 
Madeira bearnitr about W. S. W. distant tJU leagues, 
we fell in with his Britannic Majesty's two shi[>s of 
war, the Cyane and Levant, ami brought them to ac- 
tion about G o'clock in the eveaing, both of which 
after a spirited engagement of 40 minutes, surrender- 
ed to the ship under my command. 

Considering the adva .tages derived by the enemy, 
from a divided and more active force, as also Iheir 
superiority m the weight and number of guns, I deem 
tiie s[)eedy and decisive result of this action the strong- 
est assurance which can be given to the government, 
that ail did their duty, and gallantly supported the 
reputation of American seamen. 

Inclosed is a list of the killed and wounded ; also 
a statement of the actual force of the enemy, and the 
miinber killed and wounded on board their ships as 
near as could be ascertained. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

CHARLES STEWART. 

FORCE AND LOSS OF THfc: CONSTITUTION. 

32 twenty -four pounders. — 20 thirty -two pounders. — 
62 guns. Otiicers, men and boys 4(56. Killed 3 — 
wounded 12. 

FORCE AND LOSS OF THE CYANE. 

22 thirty-two pounders — 10 eighteen do. — 2 twelve 
do. — 2 brass swivels — officers, men and boys 180. 
Kdled 12— wounded 23. 

FOkCE AND L SS OF THE LEVANT. 

18 thiit,-two ((ounders — 2 nine do. — 1 t\selvedo. 
o&cers, men and boys 156. Killed 23 — wounded 16. 



^ ' ...<^'«'-„n^ 



^%PPENDIX. 



^''V^^'' 



SS^^^ CORRESPONDENCE, 

RELATIVE TO THE TREATY OF PEACE. 

Washington, Oct. 10, 1814. 
Ta the Senate and House of tiepresentatives of 

the United States. 
I lay before congress communications just received 
from the Plenipotentiaries of the U. S. charged with 
negociating peace with Great Britain ; shewing the 
conditions on which alone that government is willing 
to put ao. end to the war, 

JAMES MADISON. 

Copy of a letter from Messrs. Adams, Bayard^ Clay, 
and liitssell, to Mr. Monroe, Secretary of State* 
Ghint, August 12th, 1814. 
SIR— We have the honor to inform you that the 
British commissioners, lord Gambier, Henry Goul- 
burn, Esq. and Wilham Atlams, Esq. arrived in this 
city on Saturday evening, the sixth inst. The day af- 
ter their arrival, Mr. Baker, their Secretary, called 
upon us to give us notice of the fact, and to propose a 
meeting, at a certain hour, on the ensuing day. The 
place having been agreed upon, we accordingly met, 
at 1 o'^clock, on Monday, the eighth inst. 

We enclose, herewith, a copy of the full powers 
exhibited by the British commissioners, at that con- 
ference ; which was opened on their part by an ex- 
pression of the sincere and earnest desire of their 
governmeat, thai the negociatioii might result in a 
solid peace, honorable to both parties. They, at the 
same time declared, that no events which had occur- 
red since the first proposal for this negociation, had 
altered the pacific disposition of their government, or 
varied its views as to the terms upon which it was will- 
in^g to conclude the peace. 



APPENDIX. 361, 

We answered, that we heard these declarations 
with great satisfaction, and that onr government had 
acceded to the proposal ot negocialion, with the most 
sincere desire to put an end to the ditierences which 
divided the two countrits, and to lay upon just and 
liberal grounds the foundation of a peace which, secur- 
ing- the rights and interests of hoth nations, should 
unite them by lasting bonds of amity. 

The British commissioners then stated the follow* 
ing subjects, as those upon which it appeared to them 
that the discussions would be likely to turn, and oa 
which they were instructed. 

I. The forcibleseizuie of mariners on i)oard of mer- 
chant vessels, and in connection with it, the claim of 
his Britannic Majesty to the allegliance of all the native 
subjects of G. Britain. 

AVe understood them to intimate, that the British 
government did not propose this point as owe winch 
they were ))articularly desirous of discussing ; but 
that, as it had occupied so prominent a place in the 
disputes between the two countries, it necessarily at- 
tracted notice and was considered as a sui>ject which 
would come under discussion. 

2. The Indian allies of G. Britain to be included in 
the pacification, and a definite boundary to be settled 
for their territory. 

The British commissioners stated, that an arrange- 
ment upon this point was a sine qua noii ; that ibey 
were not authorized to conclude a treaty of peace 
which did not embrace the Indians, as allies of his 
Britannic Majesty ; and that the establishment of a 
definite bouiidary of the Indian territory was necessa- 
ry to secure a permanent peace, not only with the In- 
dians, but also between the U. States and G.Britain. 

3. A revision of the boundary line betweeti the U. S. 
and the ajacent British colonies. 

With respect to this point, they expressly disclaim 
any intention, on the part of their government, to ac- 
quire an increase of territory, and represented the pro- 
posed revision as intended merely for tiie purpose of 
preventing uncertamty and dispute. 



352 APPENDIX. 

Afler having- stated tl ese three points as subjects ol 
discussion, the British commissioners addeci, that be- 
fore they des. red any answer from us, they felt it in- 
cumbent upon them to tleclare,lhat tlie British govern- 
ment did not deny the right of the Americans to the 
fisheries generally, or in the open seas ; but that the 
privileges, formerly granted by treaty to the U. 
S. oftishmg viathm the limits of the British jurisdiction, 
and ot landing and drying fish on the shores of the 
British territories, would not be renewed without an 
equivalent. 

The extent of what was considered by them as wa- 
ters peculiarly British, was not stated. From the 
manner in which they brought this subject into view, 
they seemed to wish us to understand that they were 
not anxious that it should be discussed, and that 
they only iiitende<l to give us notice that these privi- 
leges had ceased to exist, and would not be again 
granted without an equivalent, nor unless we thought 
proper to provide expressly in the treaty of peace tor 
their renewal. 

The British comissioners having stated, that these 
were all the subjt^cts which they intended to bring for- 
ward or to suggest, requested to be informed, whether 
we were instructed to enter into negociation on these 
several j)oints, and whether there was any amongst 
these which we thought it unnecessary to bring into 
the negociat.on ;^ aid they desired us to state, Oii our 
part, such other subjects as we might intend to propose 
for discussion in the course of the negociation. The 
meeting was then ajourned to the next day, in order 
to afford us the opportunity of consultation among 
ourselves, before we gave an answer. 

In the course of the evening of the same day, we 
received your letters ot the 25th and 27th of June. 

There could be no hesitation, on our part, in in- 
forming the British commissioners, that we were not 
instruci,ed on the subjects of Indian pacitication or 
boundary, and of fiisheries. JNur did it seem proba- 
ble, although neither of these points had been stated 
with suthcieat precision in that first verbal conference. 



APPENDIX, 353 

that tliey coiiU! be admitted in any shape. — We did 
not wish, however, to prejudge the result, or by any 
hasty proceeding- abruptly to break off the ncgocia- 
tion. It was not impossible that, on tiie subject of 
the Indians, the British govermuent had received ei*^ 
roneous impressions bom the I.idnui traders in Can- 
ada, \Ahich our representations might remove: and 
it appeared, at all events, important, to ascertain dis- 
tinctly the precise intentions of G. Britain on both 
points. We, therefore, thought it advisable to mvitt 
the British commissioners to a yfeneral conversation oa 
all the points j stating to them, at the sametmie, our 
want of instructions on two of them, and holding out 
no expectation of the probability ot our agreeing to 
Tiny article respecting them. 

At our meeting on the ensuing day we informed 
tlic British commissioners, that upon the first and 
third points proposed by them we were provided 
with instructions, and we presented as further subjects 
considered by our government as suitable for dis- 
cussion : 

1st. A definition of blockade ; and as far as might 
be mutually agreed, of other neutral and belligerent 
rights. 

2d. Claims of indemnity in certain cases of capture 
and seizure. 

We then stated that the two subjects, 1st of Indian 
pacification, and boundary, and 2d of fisheries, were 
not embraced by our instructions. 

We observed, that as these points had not been 
heretofore the grounds of any controversy Ijetween 
the government of G. Britain and that of the U.S. 
and had not been alluded to by lord Casliereagh, in 
his letter proposi g the negociation, it conhl not be 
expected that they should i.ave beeii antic pated and 
made the subjert oH instructions by our government, 
that it was naiural to be sup sosed, that our instruc- 
tion^ were confined to those subjects u|!on which 
<iifi"erences between die two con .tries were known to 
exist; and that the propositioii to define, in a treatv 
4'j 



354 APPENDIX. 

between the U. States and G. Britain, tlie boundai-y of 
the Indian possessions within our territories, was new 
and without example. No such provision had been 
inserted in the treaty of peace in 1783, nor in any 
other treaty between the two countries. No such 
provision had to our knovvledg'e, ever been inserted in 
any treaty made by G. Britain or any European }>ow- 
er in relation to the same description of people, ex- 
isting under bke circumstances. We would say, 
however, that it would not be doubted, that peace 
with the Indians would certainly follow a peace with 
G Britain : that we had information that comniis- 
sioners had already been appointed to treat wjth them; 
that a treaty to that effect might, perhaps, have been 
already concluded : and that the U. S. having no in- 
terest, nor any motive to continue a separate war 
against the Indians, there could never be a moment 
when our government would not be disposed to 
make peace with them. 

We then expressed our wish to receive from the 
British commissioners a statement of the views and 
objects of G. Britain upon all the points, and our wil- 
lingness to discuss thtm all, in order that, even if no 
arrangement should be agreed on, upon the points 
not included in our instructions, the government of 
the U. States might be possessed of the entire and 
precise intentions of that of G. Britain, respecting 
these points, and that the British government might 
be fully informed of the objections, on the part of the 
U. States, toanv such arranoement. 

In answer to our remark that these points had not 
been alluded to by lord Castlereagh, in his letter pro- 
posing the negociation, it was said, that it could not 
be expected, that in a letter merely intended to invite 
a negociation, he should enumerate the topics of dis- 
cussion, or state the pretensions of his government; 
since these would depend upon ulterior events, and 
might arise out of a subsequent state of things. 

In reply to our observation, that the proposed stip- 
ulation of an Indian boundary was without example 
in the practice of European nations, it was asserted. 



APPENDIX. 365 

that the Indians must in some sort be considered as 
an independei t people, since treaties were made with 
them, both by G. Britain and by the U. States ; upoa 
■which we pointed out the obvious and important dif- 
ferences between the treaties we might make with 
Indians, hving in our territory, and such a treaty as 
^vas proposed to be made, respecting' them, with a 
foreign power, who had solemnly acknowledged the 
territory on which they resided to be part of the U. 
Sales. 

We were then asked by the British commissioners 
■whether, in case they should enter further upon the 
discussion ot the several points which had been stated, 
we could expect that it would terminate by some 
provisional arrangement on the points on which we 
had no mstructions, particularly on that respecting 
the Indians, which arrangement would be subject to 
the ratification of our government ? 

We answered, that before the subjects were dis- 
tinctly understood, and the objects in view more pre- 
cisely disclosed, we could not tlecide whether it would 
be possible to form any satisfactory article on the 
subject ; nor pledge ourselves as to the exercise of a 
discretion under our powers, even with respect to a 
provisional agreement. We added, that as we should 
deeply deplore a rupture of the negoci;ition on any 
point, it was our anxious desire to employ all possible 
means to avert an event so serious in its consequences; 
and that we had not been without hopes that a discus- 
sion might correct the effect of any erroneous infor- 
mation which the British government might have re- 
ceived on the subject which they had proposed as a 
preliminary basis. 

We took this opportunity to remark, that no na- 
tion observed, a jwlicy more liberal and humane to- 
"wards the Indians than that pursued by the U. States ; 
that our object had been, by all practicable means, to 
introduce civilization amongst them ; that their posses- 
sions were secured to them by well defined bounda- 
ries, that their persons, lands and other property were 
now more effectually protected against violence or 



356 APPENDIX. 

frauds from any quarter, tb;in tl»ey liad hren under 
any former g-overnmeut; tluit even our citizens were 
not allowed to purchase their lands ; that when ihey 
g-ave U|) their title to any portion of their country to 
the U. States, it was by voluntary treaty with our 
government, who o-ave theni a satist'act(»ry equivalent; 
and that through these means the U. States Lad suc- 
ceeded in preserving, suice the treaty of Greenville of 
1795, an uninterrupted peace ot sixteen years, with 
ail the Indian tribi s ; a period of tranquility niu(h 
loiig-er than they were kr.own to have enjoyed here- 
tofore. 

It was then expressly stated on our part, that the 
proposition resiiecting- the Indians, was not distinctly 
understood. We asked whetiser the pacification, and 
the settlement of a boundary for them were both made 
asrne quo mm. Which was answere.t in the affirm- 
ative. The question was then asked the British com* 
missioners, w helher the ))roposed Indian boundar}'^ 
was intended to preclude the U. Stales from the right 
of purchasing by treaty from the Indians, without the 
consent ot G. Britain, lands laying beyond that boun- 
dary ? And as a restriction upon the Indians from sel- 
ling by amicable treaties lands to the U. Slates as 
had been hitherto practised ? 

To this question, it was first answered by one of 
the commissioners, that the Indians would not be re- 
stricted from selling their lands, but that the U. States 
woidd be restricted from purchasing them ; and on 
reflection another of the commissioners stated, that it 
■was intended that the Indian territory should be a 
barrier between the British domniions and those of 
the U. States that both G. Britain, ^md the U. States 
should be restricted from purchasing their lands; 
but the Indians might sell them to a third party. 

The proposition respecting Indian boundary thus 
explaii ed, and connected with the right of sovereign- 
ty ascribed to the Indians over the country, amounted 
to nolhiig" less than a demand of the absolute cession 
of the rights both of sovereignty and of soil. We 
cannot abstain from remarking to ^oii, that the sub- 



APPEIVDIX. ^57 

jecl (of Indian boundary) v%as indislir.ctly stated 
when first proposed, and that the explanations were 
:it tirst obscure and always given with reluctance. 
And It was declared from the first moment, to be a 
sine qua non, renderui*^ any discussion unprofitable 
until it was aduiilled as a basis. Knowing that we 
had no power to cede to the Indians any part of our 
territory, we thought it unntcessarN to ask, what pro- 
bably would not have been answered till the principle 
was admitted, where the line of demarkation of the In- 
dian country was proposed to be established. 

The jjritish commissioners, after having repeated 
llial their instruclioiis on the subject of the Indians 
were peremptory, slated that unless we could give 
some assurance, that our powers would allow us to 
make at least a provisional arrangement on the sub- 
ject, any further discussion would be fruitless, and 
that they must consult their own go\ernment on this 
state of things. They proposed accordiigly a sus- 
pension of ti.e conferences, until they should have re- 
ceived an answer, it being understood that each party 
might call a meet ng wht never they had any proposi- 
tion to submit. Ttiey despatched a special messen- 
ger the same evenmg, and we are now waiting tor the 
result. 

Before the proposed adjournment took place, it 
was agreed that there should be a protocol of the con- 
ferences ; that a statement should for that purpose be 
drawn Uj) by each party, ami that we should meet the 
tiext day to com[»are the statements. We according- 
ly met again on Wednesday the lUth inst. and ulti- 
mately agreed upon what should constitute the proto- 
col of the conferences. A copy of this instrument, 
we have the honor to transmit with this despatch. 

They objected to the insertion of the an- 
swer which they had given to our question respecting 
the effect of the proposed Indian boundary ; but they 
agreed to an alteration of their original proposition 
on that subject, which renders it much more explicit 
than as stated, either in the tii-st conference or in their 
proposed draught of the protocol. They also object- 



358 APPENDIX. 

ed to the insertion of the fact, that they 'had proposed 
to adjourn the conferences, until they could obttun fur- 
ther instructions from their government. The re- 
turn of their messenger may, perhaps, disclose the 
motive of their reluclance in that respect. 
We have the honor to be, &c. 



JOHN a ADAMS, 
J. A. BAYARD, 



H. CLAY, 
JONA. RUSSELL. 



PROTOCOL OF CONFERENCE. 

Avgust 8, 1814. 

The British commissioners requested infornmtion 
whether the x\merican commissioners were instructed 
to enter into negociation on the preceding points? 
But before they desired any answer, they felt it right 
to communicate the intentions of their govenmient" as 
to the North American fisheries, viz. That the Bri- 
tish government did not intend to grant to the United 
States, gratuitously, the privileges formerly granted 
by treaty to them, of fishing within the limits of the 
British sovereignty, and of using the shores of the Bri- 
tish territories for purposes connected with the fish- 
eries. 

Auyust 9 — The hieeling being adjourned to the 9th 
of August the commissioners met again on that day. 

The American commissioners at this meeting stat- 
ed, that upon the first and third points proposed by 
the British commisioners, they were provided with 
instructions from their government, and that the se- 
cond and fourth of these points were not provided for 
in their instructions. That in relation to an Indian 
pacification, they knew that the government of the 
U. States had appointed commissioners to treat of 
peace with the Indians, and that it was not improba- 
ble that peace had been made w ith them. 

The Amei-ican commissioners presented as further 
subjects considered by the government of the United 
States as suitable for discussion. 

L A definition of blockade, and as far as may be 
agreed, of other neutral and belligerent rights. 



APPENDIX. 359 

2. Certain claims of indemnity to individuals for 
captures and seizures preceding and subsequent to 
the war. 

3. They further stated that there were various oth- 
er points to which their instructions extended, which 
might with propriety be objects ot discussion, either 
in the negocialion ot the peace, or in that ot a treaty 
of commerce, which in the case of a propitious ter- 
mmation of the present conferences, they were like- 
wise authorised to conckide. That for the purpose of 
facditatin<r the first and most essential object ot peace, 
they had discarded every subject which was not con- 
sidered as peculiarly connected with that, and pre- 
sented only those points which appeared to be imme- 
diately relevant to this negociation. 

The American commissioners expressed their wish 
to receive from the British commissioners a statement 
of the views and objects of Great-Britain, upon all 
the points, and their willingness to discuss them all. 

They, the American commissioners were asked, 
whether, if those of Great- Britain should enter further 
upon this discussion, particularly respecting the In- 
dian boundary, the American commissioners could 
expect that it would terminate by some provisional 
arrangement, which they could conclude, subject to 
the ralitication of their government ? 

They answered, that as any arrangement to which 
they could agree upon the subject must be without 
Si>ecitic authority from their government, it was not 
possible for them, previous to discussion, to decitle 
whether any article on the subject could be formed 
which would be mutually satisfactory, and to which 
they should think themselves, under their discretion- 
ary powers, justified in acceding. 

Messrs. Adums, Bayard, Clay, Bussell, and GaUa- 
tin, to Mr Monroe, Secretary of Slali'. 

Gh±,]st, August 19, 1814. 
SIR — Mrr Baker, secretary to the British mission, 
called upon us to-day, at 1 o'clock, and invited us to 
a conference to be held at liiiee. This was agreed to. 



360 APPENDIX. 

and the British commissioners opened it, by saying' that 
they had received tlieir turlher instructions this morn- 
itifr, and liad not lost a moment in requesting a meet- 
ing (or the purpose of communicating the decision of 
their government. It is proper to notice that lord 
Cas lereagh had arrived last night in this city, whence, 
it is said, lie will depart to-morrow on his way to 
Brussels and Yieniia. 

The British commissioners stated that their gov- 
ernment had telt some surprise, that ue were not in- 
structed respecting the luchans, as il could not have 
been expected that they would leave their allies, in 
their cotnpm'ativeU weak situation, exposed to our 
resentment. Great-Britain might justlv have suppos- 
ed that the American government would have fur- 
nished us with instructions authorising us to agree 
to a postive article on the subject; bul, the least she 
could demand was that we should sign a provisional 
article admitting the principle, subject to the ratifi- 
cation of our govertuiient ; so that, if it should be 
ratified, the treaty should take effect ; and, if not, that 
it should be null and void; on our assent or refusal 
to admit such an article would depend the continu- 
ance or suspension of the negociation. 

As we had represented that the proposition made 
by them, on that subject, was not sufficiently expli- 
cit, their government had directed them to give us 
every necessary exj)lanation, and to state distinctl}'^ 
the basis which must be considered as an indispensa- 
ble prehminary. 

Il was a sine qua non that the Indians should be 
included in the pacification, and, as incident thereto, 
that the boundaries of their territory should be per- 
manently established. Peace with the Indians was 
a subject so simple, as to require no comment. With 
respect to the boundaries which was to divide their 
territory from that of the United Siates, the object of 
the British government was, that the Indians should 
remain as a permanent barrier between onr western 
settlements, and the adjacent British provinces, to 
prevent them from being conterminous to each other: 



a:ppendix. 861 

and that neither the United Si ates^ nor Great-Britain, 
should ever hereafter have tlie right to j)nrrh.ise, or 
acquire any part of the territory ihus recogrnzed, as 
belonging- to the Indians. With regard to the extent 
of the I.idian territory, and the houadarv line, the 
British governnient would propose the lines of the 
Greenville treaty, as a proper basis, su ject, however, 
to discussion and tnoditications. 

Wt^ stated that the Indian territory, according to 
these lines, would comprehend a great iiuniber of 
American citizens ; not less, prehaps, tlian a hundred 
thousand: and asked, what was the intention of the 
British government respecting them, and under whose 
government they vvonhl tall ' It was answered that 
those settlements would be taken into consideration, 
when the line became a subject of discussion; but 
that such of the inhabitants, as would ultimately be 
included within the Indian territory, inu>t make their 
own arrangements and provide for themselves. 

The British commissioners here said that, consid- 
ering the importance of the question we had to de- 
cide, (that of agreeing to a provisional article) theii- 
government had thought it right, that we should also 
be fully informed of lis views, with r^'spect lo the pro- 
posed revision of the bou idary line, between the do- 
minions ot G Britain and the U. States. 

1st. Experience had proved that the joint posses- 
sion of the lakes, and a right common to both nations, 
to keep up a naval force on thein, necessarily pro- 
duced collisions, and rendered peace insecure. As 
G. Britain could nut be supposed to expect to make 
CO iqnest in that quarter, and as that province was es- 
se. itially weaker than the LT. States, and exposed to 
invasion, it was necessary, for its security, that G. 
Britain should require that the U. States should here- 
after keep no armed naval force on the Western Lakes, 
from Lake Ontario to LaJce Superior, both inclusive; 
that they should not erect any fortified or military 
post or establishment on the shores of those lakes ; 
and that Ihev should not maintain thoso which were 



Ji62 APPENDIX. 

already existing^. This must, they said, be consider- 
ed as a moderate demand, since G. Britain, it" she had 
not disclaimed the intention oi any mcrease of terri- 
tory, might with propriety Iiave asked a cession ot the 
adjacent American shores. The commercial naviga- 
tion and intercourse would be lett on the same foot- 
ing as heretofore. It was expressly stated, (in an- 
swer to a question we asked,) that G. Bniain was to 
retain the right of having- an armed naval force on 
those lakes, and of holding military posts and establish- 
ments on their shores. 

2 The boundary line west of Lnke Superior, and 
thence totie Mississippi, to be revised and the treaty 
right of G. Britain to the navigation of the Mississip- 
pi, to be continued. When asked, whether they did 
not mean the line from the lake of the Woods to the 
Mississippi, the British commissioners repeated that 
they meant the line from lake Superior, to that river. 

3. A direct communication trom Halifax and the 
province ol New-Brunswick to Quebec, to be secur- 
ed to G. Britain. In answer to our question, in what 
manner this was to be efiected, we were told that it 
must be done by a cession to G. Britain of that por- 
tion of the district of Manie (in the state of Massa- 
chusetts) which inter\enes between New-Brunswick 
and Quebec, and prevents that direct communica- 
tion. 

Reverting to the proposed provisional article, re- 
specting the Indian paciticalion and boundary, the 
British commissioners concluded by stating to us, 
that if the conterences should be suspended by our re- 
fusal to agree to such an article, without having ob- 
taiiied further instructions from our government, G. 
Britain would not consider herself bound to abide by 
the terms which she now offered, but would beat lib- 
erty to vary and regulate her demands according to 
subsequent events, and in sucli manner as the state of 
the war, at the time of renewing the negociation, 
might warrant. 

We asked whether the statement made, respect- 
ing proposed revision of the boundary line between 



APPENDIX. 663 

the U. Stales and the dominions of G. Britain, eni° 
braced all the objects she meant to bring- forward for 
di.sciission, and what were, particularly, her views 
with respect to Moose Island, and such other islands 
in the bay of Passamaquaddy, as had been in our 
possession till the present war, but had been lately 
captured ? We were answered, that those Islands, 
belonging' of right to G. Britain, (as much so, one of 
the commissioners said, as Northamptonshire,) they 
wouid certainly be kept by her, and were not even 
supposed to be an object of discussion. 

From the forcible manner in which the demand, 
that the U. States should keep no naval armed force 
on the lakes, nor any military post on their shores, 
has been brought forward, we were induced to in- 
quire whether this condition was also meant as a sine 
qua non ? To this the British commissioners declined 
giving a positive answer. They said that they had 
been sufficiently explicit j that they had given us one 
sine qua non, and when we had disposed of that, it 
would be time enough to give us an answer as to 
another. 

We then stated that, considering the nature and 
importance of the communication made this day, we 
wished the British commissioners to reduce their 
proposals to >yriting, before we gave them an answer; 
this they agreed to and promised to send us an official 
note without delay. 

We need hardly say that the demands of G. Britain 
will receive from us an unanimous and decided neg- 
ative. We do not deem it necessary to detain the 
John Adams for the purpose of transmitting to you 
the official notes which may pass on the snbject and 
close the negociation. And we have felt it our duty 
immediately to apprize you, by this hasty, but cor- 
rect sketch of our last conference, that there is not at 
present, any hope of peace. 

We have the honor to be, &c. 



JOHN Q, ADAMS, 
J. A. BAYARD, 
A. GALLATIN. 



H. CLAY, 

JON A. RUSSELL. 



364 APPENDIX. 

Note of the British Commissioners. JReceived after 
the above letter wasnritteri. 

The undersigned, Pleiiipotentianes ot his Britannic 
Majesty, do themselves the honor ot acquaintintj^ the 
Plenipotentiaries of the U. Slates, that they have 
coninunucated to their court the result of tlie confer- 
ence which they had the honor of holding with them 
upon the 9th inst. in which they stated, that tliey 
■were unprovided with any specific instructions, as to 
coinprehei»d ng the In lian nations in a treaty of 
peace to be made with G. Britain, and as to defining* 
a boundary to the Indian territory. 

The undersigned are instructed to acquaint the 
PKnipotentiaries of the U. States, that his Maje.st\'s 
government having al the outset of the negociation, 
With a view to the speedy restoration of peace re- 
duced as far as possible the number of points to be 
discussed, and having professed themselves willing to 
forego on some important topics any stipu>aliOii to 
the advantage of G. Britain, cannot but feel some 
surprize that the government of the U. States should 
not have furnished their Plenipotentiaries with in- 
structions ujjon those points which could hardly tail to 
come under discussion. 

Under the inability of the American Plenipotentia- 
ries, to conclude any article upon the subject of In- 
dian pacification and Indian boundary, which shall 
bind the government of the U. States, his jVlajesty's 
government conceive that they cannot give a better 
proof of their sincere desire for the restoration of 
peace, than by professing their willingness to accept 
a provisional article upon these heads, in the event of 
the American Plenipotentiaries considering them- 
selves authorized to accede to the general principles, 
upon which such an article ought to be founded. 
With a view to enable the American Plenipotentia- 
ries to decide, how far the conclusion of such an arti- 
cle is within the limit of their general discretion, the 
undersigned are directed to state, fully and distinctly, 
the basis upon which alone G. Britain sees any proS'« 



APl»ENDIX, 365 

pect of advantage in the continuance of the negocia- 
tions at the present time. 

Tiie Uiiclersigiied have already had the honor of stat- 
ing' to the American Pleni|iOtentiaries, that in con- 
sider. ns^ the points above referred to, as a sine qua non 
of any treaty of peace, the view of the British govern- 
ment IS the permanent tranquility and security of the 
Indian iiatio is, a id the prevention of those jealousies 
a-id irritations, to which the frequent alteration of the 
I.idian limits has heretofore given rise. 

For this purpose it is indisj)cnsably necessary, thit 
the Indian nations who have been during the war in 
alliance with G. Britain should, at the tennniation of 
the war, be included in the pacilication. 

It IS equally necessary, that a definite boundary 
should be assigned to the Indians, and that the con- 
tracting parties should guarantee the integrity of 
their territory, by a mutual stipulation, not to acquire 
by purchase, or otherwise, any territory withm the 
specified limits. T:ie British government are willing 
to take, as the basis of an a- tide on this subject, those 
shpulatious ofthe treaty ol" Greenville, subject to mo- 
difications, which relate to a boundary line. 

As the undersigned are desirous of stating every 
poiiit in connection with the subject, which may rea- 
sonably influence the decision of the American PiCni- 
potentiaries in the exercise of their discretion, they 
avail themselves of this opportunity to repeat what 
they already stated, that G. Britain desires the revi- 
sion of the frontier between her North American do- 
minions and those of the CF. States, not vvitii any view 
to an acquisition of territory, as such, but for the pur- 
pose of securing her possessions, and preventing fu- 
ture disputes. 

The British government, consider the lakes from 
lake Ontario to lake Superior, both inclusive, to be 
the natural military frontier of the British possessions 
in North America. As the weaker power on the 
NortJi American continent, the least capable of acting 
otfensiveiy, and the most exposed to sudden invasions, 
G. Britain considers the military occupation of these 



366 APPENDIX. 

Lakes as necessary to the security of her dominions, 
A boundary line equally dividing these waters, with 
a right to each nation to arm, both upon the lakes 
and upon their shores, is calculated to create a con- 
test for naval ascendancy in peace as well as in war. 
The power which occupies these lakes should, as a 
necessary result, have the military occupation of both 
shores. 

In furtherance of this object the Britsh government 
is prepared to propose a boundary. But as this 
might be misconstructed as an intention to extend their 
possessions to the southward of the lakes, which is by 
no means the object they have in view, they are dis- 
posed to leave the territorial limits undisturbed, and 
as incident to them, the free commercial navigation 
of the lakes, provided that the American government 
will stipulate not to maintain or construct, any fortifi- 
cations upon, or within a limited distance of the shores, 
or maintainor construct any armed vessel upon the 
lakes in question, or in the rivers which empty them- 
selves mto the same. 

If this can be adjusted, there will then remain for 
discussion the arrangement ofthe north western boun- 
dary between lake Superior and the Mississippi, the 
free navigation of that river, and such a vacation of 
the line of frontier as may secure a direct communi- 
cation between Quebec and Halfax. 

The undersigned trust, that the full statement which 
they have made of the views and objects ofthe British 
government i.^ requiring the pacification ofthe Indian 
nations, and a permanent limit to their territories, will 
enable the American Plenipotentiaries to conclude a 
provisional article upon the basis above stated. 
Should they feel it necessary to refer to the govern- 
ment ofthe U. States for further instructions, the un- 
dersigned feel it incumbent upon them to acquaint 
the American Plenipotentiaries, that the government 
cannot be precluded by any thing that has passed 
from varying the terms at present proposed, in such a 
manner, as the state of war, at the time of resuming the 
conferences, may in theirjudgment render advisable. 



APPENDIX. 367 

The undersig'ned avail themselves of this occasion 
to renew to the Plenipotentiaries of the U. States, the 
assurance of their high consideration. 

GAMBIER, 
H. GOULBURN, 
W. ADAMS. 
Ghent i August 19, 1814. 

The ministers plenipotentiary/ and extraordinary of 
the U. Slates to the plenipotentiaries oj his Bri- 
tannic Majesty, 

Ghent, August 24, 1814. 
The undei*signed ministers plenipotentiary and 
extraordniary from the United States of America, 
have given to the official note which they have had 
the honor of receiving from his Britaiw)ic majesty's 
plenipotentiaries the deliberate attention which the 
importance of its contents required, and have now 
tliat of transmitting to them their answer on the sev- 
eral points to w hich it refers. 

They would present to the consideration of the Bri- 
tish plenipotentiaries, that lord Castlereagh, in his let- 
ter of the 4lh of November 1813, to the American 
secretary of state, pledges the faith of the British gov- 
ernment that * they were willing to enter into discus- 
sion with the government of America for the concili- 
atory adjustment of the difterences subsisting between 
the two states, with an earnest desire on their part to 
bring them to a favorable issue, upon principles of 
perfect reciprocity, not inconsistent with the estab- 
lished maxims of public law, and tiie maritime rights 
of the British empire.' This fact alone might suffice 
to shew, that it ought not to have been expected that 
the American government, in acceding to this pro- 
position, should have exceeded its terras, and furnish- 
ed the undersigned with instructions authorising 
them to treat with the British plenipotentiaries re- 
specting Indians situated withni the boundaries of the 
U. States. That such expectation was not enter- 
tained by tiie British government might also have 
beeu inferred from the explicit assurances v\hich the 



368 APPENDIX. 

British plenipotentiaries gave, on the part of their 
government, at the first conference which the under- 
signed had the honor of holding with them, that no 
events, subsequent to the hrst proposal for this nego- 
ciation, had, many manner, varied either the dispo- 
sition ofthe British government, that it might termi- 
na e in a peace honorable to both parties, or the terms 
upon which the> would be willing to conclude it. 

It is well known that the differences which unhap- 
ily subsist between Great-Britain and the U. States, 
and which ultimately led to the present war, M'ere 
wholly of a maritime nature, arising principally from 
the British Orders in Council, in relation to blockades, 
and from the impressment of mariners from on board 
of American vessels. — Ttie boundary ot the Indian 
territory had never been a subject of difference be- 
tween the two countries. Neither ihe principles of 
reciprocity, the maxims of public law, nor the mari- 
time rigiits of the British empire could require the 
permanent establishment of such a boundary. The 
novel pretensions now advanced coud no more have 
been anticipated by the governmeiit ofthe U. States, 
ill forming instructions for this negociation, than they 
seem to have been contemplated by that of G. Britain 
in November last in proposing it. Lord Castlereagh's 
note makes the terminition ofthe war to depend on 
a conciliatory adjustment of the differences then sub- 
sistino' between the two states and in no other condi- 
tion whatever. 

Nor could the American government have foreseen 
that G. Britain in orderto obtain peace for the Indians, 
residing within the dominions of the U. States, whom 
she had induced to take part with her in the war, 
would demand that they should be made parties to 
the treaty betvieen the two nations, or that the boun- 
daries of their lands should be permanently and irre- 
vocably fixed by that treaty. Such a proposition is 
contrary to the acknowledged principles of public 
law, and the practice of all civilized nations, partic- 
ularly of Great-Britain and of the U. Slates. It is 
not ibunded on reciprocity. It is unnecessary for the 



APPENDIX. 309 

altuininent of the object which it professes to have in 
view. 

No maxim of public law has hitherto been more 
universally established among- the powers of Europe 
jjossessing- territories in America, and there is none 
to which Great- Britain has more uniformly and in- 
Hexibly adhered, than that of suffering- no interposi- 
tion of a foreign power in the relations between the 
acknowledged sovereign of the territory, and the In- 
d.ans situated upon it. Without the adnussion of this 
principle, there would be no intelligible meanina; 
attached to stipulations establishing boundaries l;e- 
tween the dominions in America, of civilized nations 
possessing territories iiihabite<l l)y Indian tribes. — 
Whatever may be the relations of Indians to the na- 
tion in whose territory they are thus acknowledg-ed 
to reside, they cannot be considered as an independent 
power by the nation which has made such acknowl- 
edg-ment. 

The territory of which Great-Britain wishes now to 
dispose, is within the dominions of the [J. States, 
was solemnly acknowledg-ed by herself in the treaty 
of peace of 178-3, which established their boundaries, 
and by which she relinquished all claim to the gov- 
ernment, propriety, and territorial rights withm these 
boundaries. JNo condition respecting the Indians re- 
siding- therein, was inserted in that treaty. No stip- 
ulation similar to tiiatnow proposed is to be found in 
any treaty made by Great-Britam, or withm the 
knowledg-e of the undersigned, by any other nation. 

The Indian tribes for which Great-Britain propo* 
ses now to stipulate have, themselves, acknowedg-ed 
this principle. By the Greenville treaty of 1795, to 
which the British plenipotentiaries have here alluded, 
it is expressly sti[)ulated, and the condition has been 
contirnied by every subsequent treaty, so late as the 
year 1810, ' Tiiat the Indian tribes shall quietly en- 
joy their lands, hunting-, planting-, and dwelling- there- 
on, so long as they please, without any molestation 
from the U. States: but that \ihen those tribes, or 
47 



370 APPENDIX. 

any of them, shall be disposed to sell their lands, thiry 
shall be sold only to the U. States: that until such 
sale, the V. States will protect all the said Indian 
tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against 
all citizens of the U. States, and against all other 
white persons who intrude on the same, and that the 
said [ndian tribes again acknowledge themselves to 
be under the protection of the said U. States, and of 
no other power whatever/ 

I'hat there is no reciprocity in the proposed stipu- 
lation is evident. In prohibiting G. Britain and the 
U. States from ])urchasing lands within a part of the 
donnnion of the latter power, while it professes to 
take from G. Britain a privilege which she had not, it 
actually deprives the U. States of a right exclusively 
belonging to them. 

The proposition is utterly unnecessary for the pur- 
pose of obtaining a pacification for the Indians resid- 
ing within the territories of the U. Stales. The un- 
dersigned have already had the honor of informing 
tl>e British Plenopotentiaries, that, under the system 
of liberal policy adopted by the U. Stales in their re- 
lations with the Indians within their teiritories, an un- 
interrupted peace had subsisted from the year 1775, 
not only between theU. States and all those tribes, 
but also amongst those tribes themselves for a longer 
period of time than ever had been known since the 
liist settlement of North America. Against those 
Indians the U. States have neither interest nor incli- 
nation to continue the war. They have nothing to 
ask of them but peace. Commissioners on their part 
have been appointed to conclude it, and an armistice 
was actually made last autumn with most of those 
tribes. The British government may again have in- 
duced some of them to take their side in the war, but 
peace with them will necessarily follow immediately 
a peace with G. Britain. To a provisional article 
similar to what has been stipulated in some former 
treaties, engaging that each party will treat for the 
Indians within its territories, include them in the 
peace, and use its best endeavors to prevent them 



APPENDIX 371 

irom coinmittiug hostillities agaiiisl the citizens or 
subjects of the other party, the uudersig'iiod iiiiglit as- 
sent, and rely on the ap[>«-obation and ratification of 
their government They would also for the purpose 
of securing- the duration of peace, and to prevent col- 
lisions which might niterrupt it, propose a stipulation 
M^hich should preclude the subjects or citizens of 
each nation, respectively from trading- with the 
I.idians residing in the territory of the other. But to 
surrender both the rights of sovereig-nly and ot soil 
over nearly one third of the territorial dominions of 
the U. States to a number of Indians not probably 
exceeding" twenty thousand, the undersigned are so 
far from being instructed or authorized, that any ar- 
rangement for that pur|)<)se would be iiistantaaeously 
rejected by their government. 

Not Only has this extraordinary demand been made 
SLsme (jita notij to be admitted without a discussion, 
and as a preliminary basis ; but it is acconiivauied 
by others equally inadmissible, which the British Ple- 
nipotentiaries state to be so connected with it, that 
they may reasonably influence the decision of the un- 
dersigned upon it, yet leaving them uniformed how 
far these other demands may also be insisted on as in- 
dispensable conditions of a peace. 

As little^are the undersigned insU'Ucted or empow- 
ered to accede to the propositions of the British govrn- 
ment, in relation to the military occupation of the 
western lakes. If they have found the propv)sed inter- 
ference ofG. Britain in the concerns of India. is reside 
ing within die U. States utterly incompatible witli any 
established maxim of public law, they are no less at 
a loss to discover by what rule of perfect reciprocity 
theU. States can be required to renounce their equal 
right of maintaining a naval force upon those lakes, 
and of fortifying their own shores, while G. Britain 
reserves exclusively the corresponding rights to her- 
self. That in point of military [)reparation, G. Bri- 
tain in her possessions in Norih America, ever has 
been in a condition to be termed, with propriety, the 
'^'eaker power in comparison with the TT. States, the 



ii72 APPENDIX, 

undersigned believe to be incorrect in point of iact. 
In regard to the fortification of the shores, and to the 
forces actually kept on foot upon those frontiers, they 
believe the superiority to have always been on the side 
of G. Britain. If the proposal to dismantle the forls 
upon her shores, strike forever her mi'itary flag' upon 
her lakes, and lay her whole frontier defenceless in the 
presence of her armed and fortified neighbor, had 
proceeded not from G Britain to the U. States, but 
from the U. States to G. Britain, the undersigned 
may safely appeal to the bosoms of his Britannic 
Majesty's Plenipotentiaries for the feelings with 
M'hich, not only in regard to the interests, but the hon- 
or of their nation, they would have received such a 
proposal. What would G. Britain herself say, if iu 
relation to another frontier, where she has the ac- 
knowledged superiority of strength, it were proposed 
that she should be reduced to a condition even of 
equality with the U. States ? 

The undersigned further perceive that under the 
alledged purpose of opening a direct communication 
between two of the British provinces in America, the 
British government require a cession of territory 
forming a part of one of the states of the American 
union, and that they propose, without purpose speci- 
fically alledged, to draw the boundary line westward, 
not from the lake of the Woods, as it now is, but from 
lake Superior. It must be perfectly inmialerial to 
the IT. States whether the object of the British 
;govenment, in demanding the dismemberment of the 
U. States is to acqinre territory, as such, or for pur- 
poses less liable, in the eyes of the world, to be ascri-r 
bed to the desire of agirrandi/ement, Whatever the 
motive may be, and w ilh whatever consistency views 
of conquest may be disclaimed, while demanding for 
jierself, or for the Indians, a cession of territory more 
extensive than the whole Island of G. Britain, tlie 
duty marked out for the nndersingned is the same. 
They have no authority to cede any part of the terri- 
tory of the U. States, and to no stipulation to that ef- 
fect will they subscribe, 



APPENDIX. 373 

The conditions proposed by G. Britain have no re- 
lation to llie subsisting* differences between the two 
countries: they are inconsistent with acknowledged 
principles of public law : they are founded neither on 
reciprocity nor on any ot" the usual bases of neg^ocia- 
tion, neither on that of uti possidetis, or of status ante 
belluni : they would intlict the most vital injury on 
the U States, by disniemberini>- their territory, by ar- 
resting their natural orj-owth and increase of pojiula- 
tion, and by leaving their northern and western fron- 
tier equally exposed to British invasion and to Indian 
ag"gression : they are, above all, dishonorable to the 
U. States, in demanding from them to abandon ter- 
ritory and a portion of their citizens, to admit a for- 
eign interference in their domestic concerns, and to 
cease to exercise their natural rights on their own 
shores and in their own waters. A treaty concluded 
on such terms would be but an armistice. It can- 
not be supposed that America would long submit to 
conditions so injurious anddegrading. It is impossi- 
ble, in the natural course of events, that she should not, 
at the first favorable opportunity, recur to arms, for 
the recovery of her territory, of her rights, of her hon- 
or. Instead of settling existing differences, such a 
peace would only create new causes of war, sow the 
seeds of a permanent hatred, and lay the foundation 
of hostilities for an indefinite period. 

Essentially pacific from her political institutions, 
from the habits of her citizens, from her physical sit- 
uation, America reluctantly engaged in the war. 
She wishes for peace ; but she wishes for it upon 
those terms of reciprocity, honorable to both counties, 
which can alone render it permanent. The causes 
of the war between the U. States and G.Britain havino- 
disappeared by the maritime pacification of Europe, 
the government of the U. States does not desire to 
continue it, in defence of abstract principles, which 
iiave for the present, ceased to fiave any practical ef~ 
feet. The undersigned have been accordingly in- 
structed to agree to its termination, both parties res- 
toring whatever territory they may have taken, and 



374 A1»PENDIX. 

both reserving all their rights, in relation to their re- 
spective seamen. To make the peace between the 
two nations solid and permanent, the undersi<jned 
were also instructed, and have been prepared to enter 
into the most amicable discussion of all those points 
on which differences or uncertainty had existed, and 
which might hereafter tend in any degree whatever to 
interrupt the harmony of the two countries, without, 
however, making the conclusion of the peace at all 
depend upon a successful result oi the discussion. 

It is, therefore, with deep regret, that the inder- 
signed have seen that other views are entertained by 
the British government, and that new and unexpected 
pretensions are raised, which, if jjersisted in, must op- 
pose an insuperable obstacle to a pacification. It is 
not necessary to refer such demands to the American 
government for its instruction. They will only be a 
fit subject of deliberation, when it becomes necessary 
to decide upon the expediency of an absolute surren- 
der of national independence. 

The undei'signed request the British Plenipoten- 
tiaries lo accept the assurance of their high esteem. 



JOHN a ADAMS. 
J. A. BAYARD, 
H. CLAY, 



JONA. RUSSELL, 
A. GALLATIN. 



The British to the Americati Commissioners. 
Ghent, Sept. 4, 1814. 

The undersigned have the honor tx) acknowledge 
the receipt of the note of the American Plenipoten- 
tiaries, dated the 24lh ultimo. 

It is with unfeigned regret that the undersigned ob- 
serve, both in the tone and substance of the whole 
note, solittle proof of any dispo«ition on the part of the 
government of the U. States to enter into an amica- 
ble discussion of the several points submitted by the 
undersigned in their former comniunicalion. The 
undersigned are perfectly aware, that in bringing for- 
ward those points for consideration, and stating with 
so much frankness, as they did, the views with which 
tliey were proposed, they departetl from the usual 



APPENDIX. 3S7 

dourse of negociating, by disclesing- all the objects of 
their government, while those which the American 
government had in view were withheld : but in so 
domg they were principally actuated by a desire of 
bringing the negociation as soon as possible to a favor- 
able termination, and in some measure by their willing- 
ness to comply with the wishes expressed by theAmer- 
can plenipotentiaries themselves. 

It IS perfectly true that the war between his Majes- 
ty and the U. Stales, was declared by the latter pow- 
er upon the pretence of maritime rights allcdged to be 
asserted by G. Hntain, and disputed by the U. States. 

If the war thus declared by the U. States had been 
carried on by them for objects purely of a maritime 
nature, or if the attack which has been niade on Can- 
ada had been for the purpose of diversion, or the way 
of defence against the British forces in that quarter, 
any qustion as to the boundaries of Canada, might 
have been considered as unnecessary ; but it is noto- 
rious to the whole world th;jtthe conquest of Cauda, and 
its permanent annexation to the U. Stales, was the de- 
clared object of the American goverumeuL If in 
consequence of a different^course of events on the con- 
tinent of Europe, his Majesty's government had been 
unable to reinforce the British armies in Canada, 
and the United States had obtained a decided supe- 
riority in that quarter, is there any person who doubts 
tliat they would have availed themselves of their situ- 
ation to obtain on the side of Canada important ces- 
sions of territory, if not the entire abandonment of that 
country by Great Britain? Is the American govern- 
ment to be allowed to pursue, so for as its means will 
enable it, a system of acquisition and aggrandize- 
ment to the extent of annexing eiitire provinces to 
their dominions, and is his majesty to be precluded, 
from availing himself of his means, so far as they will 
enable him, to retain those points which the valor of 
B*'itish arms may have placed in his power, because 
they happen to be situated within the territories allot- 
ted under former treaties to the governmeot of thfi 
United States^? 



376 APPENDIX. 

Such a principle of nei^ociation was never avowed 
antecedent to that of the revolutionary government of 
France. 

If the policy of the United States had been essen- 
tially pacific, as the American pleinpotentiaries as- 
sert it oLiij-ht to be, from their political institutions, 
fromthe habits of their citizens, and from their phys- 
ical situation, it might not have lieen necessary to 
propose the precautionary provisions now undtr dis- 
cussion. That, of late years at least, the American 
government have been intlueuced by a very different 
policy ; by a spirit of aggrandizement not necessary 
to their own security, i ut increasing wilh the extent 
of their empire, has been too clearly manifested by 
their progressive occupation of the Indian territories ; 
by the acquisition of Louisana ; by the mure recent 
attempt to wrest by force of arms from a nation in 
amity, the two Floiidas : and, lastly, by the avowed 
intention of permanently annexing the Canadas to 
the United States. 

If, then, the security of the British North American 
dominions requires any sacrifices on the part of the 
U. Slates, they must be ascribed to the declared poli- 
cy of that government in making the war not one of 
self defence, nor for the redress otgrievences, real or 
pretented, but a part of a system of conquest and ag- 
grandizement. 

The British government in its present situation, is 
bound in duty toendeavoPto secure its North Amer- 
ican dominions against those attempts at conquest, 
which the American government have avowed to be 
a principle of their pohcy, and winch as such will un- 
doubtedly be renewed, whenever any succeeding war 
between the two countries shall afford a prospect of 
renewing them with success. 

The British plenipotentiaries proposed that the 
military possession of the lakes, from lake Ontario to 
lake Superior, should be secured to Great-Briain, be- 
cause the command o\i' those lakes would atford to the 
American government the means of commencing a 
var in the heart of Canada, and because the command 



APPENDIX. 077 

of them, on the part of Great-Britain, has been shewn 
bv experience to be attended with no insecurity to the 
United States. 

When the relative strength of the two powers in 
North America is coiisideied, it should be recollect- 
ed that the British dominions in that quarter do not 
contain a population of five hundred thousand souls, 
Avhereas the territory of the U. States contains a pop- 
ulation of more than seven millions ; that the naval 
resources of the United States are at hand for attack, 
and that ihe naval resources of G. Britain are on the 
other side of the Atlantic. 

The military possession of those lakes is not, there- 
fore, necessary for the protection of the U. States. 

The proposal for allowing the territories on the 
southern banks of the lakes above mentioned to re- 
main in the possession of the government of the U. 
States, provided no fortifications should be erected 
on the shores, and no armament permitted on the wa- 
ters, has been made, for the pur[)ose of manifesting, 
that security and not acquisition of the territory is the. 
object of the British government, and that they have 
no desire to throw obstacles in the way of any com- 
merce which the people of the U. States may be de- 
sirous of carrying on upon the lakes in time of peace. 

The undersigned, with the anxious wish to rectify 
all misunderstanding, have thus more fully explained 
the grounds upon which tiiey brought forward the 
propositions contained in thew former note respecting 
the boundaries of the British dominions in North 
America. 

They do not wish to insist upon them beyond what 
the circumstances may fairly require. They are ready, 
amicably to discuss the details of them with a view 
to the adoption of any modifications which the Amer- 
ican plenipotentiaries, or their government, may have 
to suggest, if they are not incompatible with the ob- 
ject itself. 

With respect to the boundary of the district of 
Maine, and that of the north western frontiei* of the 
48 



373 APPENDIX. 

JJ. States, the undersigned were not prepared to an- 
ticipate the objections contained in the note of the 
American plenipotentiaries, ' that they were instruct- 
ed to treat for the revision oH their boundary lines,* 
with the statement which they have subsequently 
made, that they had no authority to cede any part, 
however insignificant, of the territories of the United 
States, although the proposal left it open to them to 
demand an equivalent for such ces&ion either in fron- 
tier or otherwise. 

The American plenipotentiaries must be aware that 
the boui dary of the district of Maine has never been 
correctly ascertained ; that the one asserted at pre- 
sent by the American government, by which ihe di- 
rect communication between Halifax and Q,i»ebec 
becomes interrapted, was not in contemplation of the 
British plenipotentiaries who concluded the treaty of 
1783, and that the greater part of the lerritory in. 
question is actually unoccupied. 

The undersigned are persuaded that an arrange- 
ment on this, point might be easily made, if entered 
into with the spirit of conciliation, without any pre- 
judice to the interests of the district in question. 

As the necessity oftixmg some boundary for the 
north western frontier has been mutually acknowl- 
edged, a proposal for a discussion on that subject can- 
not be considered as a demand for a cession of territo- 
ry, unless the U. States are prepared to assert that 
there is no limit to their territories in that direction, 
and that availing themselves of the geographical er- 
ror upon which that part of the treaty of 1783 was 
founded, they will acknowledge no boundary what- 
ever, then unquestionably any proposition to tix one, 
be it what it may, must be considered as demanding 
a large cession of territory from the U. States. 

Is the American government prepared to assert 
such an unlimited right, so contrary to the evident 
intention of the treaty itself? Or, is his majesty's 
government to understand that the American pleni- 
potentiaries are willing to acknowledge the boundary 
from the lake of the Woods to the IMississippi (the 



APPENDIX. 879 

.arrangement made by a convention in 1803, but not 
ratitied) as that by which their government is ready 
to abide ? 

The British pIeni[>otentiaries are instructetl to ac- 
cept favorably such a proposition, or to discuss any 
other Hue of boundary which may be submitted for 
consideration. 

It is with equal astonishment and regret the under* 
signed find that the American plenipotentiaries have 
not only declined signing any provisional article, by 
which the Indian nations who have taken part with 
Great-Britain in the present contest may be included 
in the peace, and may have a boundary assigned to 
them, but liave also thought proper to express surprise 
at any proposition on tlie subject having been advanced. 

The American Plenipotentiaries state, that their 
govenimeiit could not have expected such a discus- 
sion, and appear resolved, at once, to reject any pro- 
position on this head; representing it as a demand 
contrary to the acknowledged principles of public 
law, tantamount to a cession of one third of the terri- 
torial dominions of the U. States, and required to be 
admitted without discussion. 

The proposition which is thus represented is, that 
the Indian nations, which have been during the war 
in alliance with G. Britain, should at its termination 
be included in the pacification ; and with a view to 
their permanent tranquility and security, that the Bri- 
tish government is willing to take as a basis of an ar- 
ticle on the subject of a boundary for those nations, 
the stipulations which the American government con- 
tracted in 1795, subject, however, to modifications. 

After the declaration, publicly made to those In- 
dian nations by the governor Gen. of Canada, that 
G. Britain would not desert them, could the Ameri- 
can government really persuade itself that no propo- 
sition relating to those nations would be advanced, 
and did lord Castlereagh's note of the 4th Nov. 181-3, 
imply so great a sacrifice of honor, or exclude from dis- 
cussion every subject, except what immediately rela- 
ted to the martime questions referred to in it .^ 



580 APPENDIX. 

When the undersigned assured the American Ple- 
nipotentiaries of the anxious wish of the British 
government that the negociation might terminate in a 
peace honorable to both parties, it could not ha\e 
been imagined that the American Plenipotentiaries 
would thence conclude, that his Majesty's govern- 
ment was prepared to abandon the Indian nations to 
their fale, nor could it have been forseen that the 
American govenmient would have considered it as 
derogator y to its honor to admit a proposition by which 
thetrancpulity of these nations might be secured. 

The treaty of Greenville established the boundaries 
between the U. States and the Indian nations, Ti»e 
American Plenipotentiaries nuist be aware, that the 
Wdr which has since broken out, has abrogated that 
treaty. Is it contrary to the established principles of 
public law for the British government to propose, oa 
behalf of its allies, that this treaty, shall, on the pacifi- 
cation, be considered subject to such moditicatiotis 
as the case may render necessary ? Ui' is it unrea- 
sonable to propose, that this stipulation should be 
amended, and that on that foundation some arrange- 
ment should beniade which would provide for iheex- 
istance of a neutral power between G. Britain and the 
U. States, calculated to secure to both a longer con- 
tinuance of the blessings of peace ? 

So far was that specific proposition respecting the 
Indian boundaries from being insisted upon ni the 
note, or in the conference which preceded it, as one 
to be admitted without discussion, that it would have 
been difficult to use terms of greater latitude, or 
which appeared more adapted, uot only not to pre- 
clude but to invite discussion. 

If the basis proposed could convey away one tjiird 
of the territory of the U. States, the American govern- 
ment itself must have conveyed it away by the 
Greenville treaty of 1796. 

It is impossible to read that treaty without remark- 
ing how inconsistent the present pretensions of the 
American government are, with its preamble and 
provisions. The boundary line between the lands of 



APPENDIX. 381 

the U. States nncl those of the Indian nations, is there- 
in expressly dtfinetl. The general character of tlie 
treaty, is that of a treaty with independent nations ; 
and the very stipulation which the American Pleni- 
potentiaries refer to, that the Indian nations should sell 
their lands only to the U. Stales, tends to prove that, 
hat for that stipulation, the Indians had a general 
riglit to dispose of thera. 

The American government has now for the first 
time, in effect, declared that all Indian nations with- 
in its line of demarkation are ils subjects, living there 
upon sutierance, on lands which it also claims the ex- 
clusive rig-htof acquiring, thereby menacing the final 
extinction of those nations. 

Against such a system the undersigned must for- 
mally protest. The undersigned repeat, that thr 
terms on which the proposition has been made for as- 
sig-ning to the Indian nations some boundary, mani- 
fest no unwillingness to discuss any other proposition 
directed to the same object, or even a modiHcation of 
that which is offered. G. Britain is ready to enter in- 
to the same engagements with respect to the Indians 
living- within her line of demarkation, as that which 
is proposed to the U. States. It can therefore, only 
be from a complete misapprehension of the proposi- 
tion, that it can be represented as being not reciprocal. 
Neither can it, with any truth, be represented as con- 
trary to the acJcnowledged principles of public law, 
as derogatory to the honor, or inconsistent with the 
rig-hts of the American government, nor as a demand 
required to be admitted without discussion. 

After this full exposition of the sentiments of his 
Majesty's government on the points above stated, it 
will be forthe American plenipotentiaries to determine 
whether they are ready now to continue the ncgocia- 
tions ; whether they are disposed to refer to their 
government for further instructions ; or, lastly, wheth- 
er they will take upon themselves the responsibility of 
breaking off the negociation altogether. 



382 APPENDIX. 

The undersigned request the American Plenipo- 
tentiaries to accept the assurances of their high con- 
sideration. 

GAM BIER, 

HEWRY GOULBURN, 

WM. ADAMb. 

The American to the British Commissioners. 
Ghent, Sept. 9th, 1814. 

The undersigned have had the honor to receive 
the note ot' his Britannic Majesty's Plenipotentiaries, 
dated the 4th inst. If in the ton©, or substance of the 
former iiote of the undersigned, the British commis- 
sioners have perceived little proof of any disposition 
on the part of the American government, for a dis- 
cussion of some of the propositions advanced in the 
first note, which t!ie undersigned had the honor of re- 
ceiving from them, they will ascribe it to the nature of 
the propositions themselves, to their apparent incom- 
patibility with the assurances in lord Castlereagh's 
letter to the American Secretary of state, proposing 
the negociation, and with the solemn assurances of the 
British Plenipotentiaries themselves, to the under- 
signed, at their first conferences with them. 

The Uiidersigned, in reference to an observation of 
the British plenipotentiaries, must be allowed to say, 
that the objects which the government of the U. States 
had in view, have not been withheld. 

The subjects considered as suitable for discussion 
were fairly brought forward, in the conference of the 
9th ult. and the terms on which the U. States were 
willing to conclude the peace, were frankly and ex- 
pressly declared in the note of the undersigned, dated 
the 24th ultimo. It had been conhdently lioped that 
the nature of those terms, so evidently framed in a 
spirit of conciliation, would have induced G. Britain 
to adopt them as the basis of a treaty ; and it is with 
deep regret that the undersigned, if they have rightly 
understood the meaning of the last note of the British 
Plenipotentiaries, perceive that they still insist on the 
exclusive military possession of the lakes, and on a 



APPENDIX. 38o 

permanent boundary and independent territorory for 
the Indians residnig within the dominions ot the U, 
States. 

The first demand is grounded on the supposition, 
that the American government has manifested, by its 
proceedings towards Spain, by the acquisition of Lou- 
isiana, by the purchases ot Indian lands, and by an 
avowed intention of permanently annexing the Cana- 
das to the U. States, a spirit of agt^randizement and 
conquest, which justifies the demand of extraordinary 
sacrifices from them, to provide for the security of the 
British possessions in America. 

Ill observations which the undersigned felt it their 
duty to make on the new demands of the British 
government, they confined their animadversions to 
the nature of the demands themselves : they did not 
seek for illustrations of the policy of G. Britain in her 
conduct, in various quarters of the globe, towards 
other nations, for she was not accountable to the U. 
States. Yet the undersigned will say, that their 
government has ever been ready to arrange, in the 
most amicable manner, with Spain, the questions re- 
specting the boundaries of Louisiana, and Florida, and 
that of the indemnities acknowledged by Spain due 
to American citizens. How the peaceable acquisition 
of Louisiana, or the purchase of lands within the ac- 
knowledged territories of the U. States, both made by 
fair and voluntary treaties for satisfactory equivalents, 
can be ascribed to a spirit of conquest dangerous to 
their neighbors, the undersigned are altogether at a 
loss to understand. 

Nor has the conquest of Canada, and its permanent 
annexation to the U. States, been the declared object of 
their government. From the commencement of the 
war to the present time, the American government 
has been always willing to make peace, without ob- 
taining any cession of territory, and on the sole con- 
dition that the maritime questions might be satis- 
factorily arranged. Such was their disposition in the 
month of July, 1812, when they instructed Mr, 
Russell to make the proposal of an aranstice; in the 



384 APPENDIX. 

month of October of the same year, when Mr. Mon 
roe ajiswered Admiral Warren's proposals to the 
same effect ; in April, 1813, when iiislructions were 
g-iven to three of the nndersig-tied then appointed to 
treat of peace, under the mediation ot Russia; and 
in January, 1814, when the instructions under which 
the undersigned are now acting, were prepared. 

The proposition of the British plenipotentiaries is, 
that, in order to secure the frontier of Canada against 
attack, the U. States should leave their own Without 
defence ; and it seenjs to be forgotten, that if their 
superior population, and the proximity of their re- 
sources give them any advantage in that quarter, it 
is balanced by the great difference between the mil- 
itary establishments of the two nations. No sudden 
invasion of Canada by the U. States could be made, 
without leaving on their Atlantic shores, and on the 
ocean, exposed to the great superiority of the British 
force, a mass of American property far more valuable 
than Canadn. In her relative superior force to that 
of the U. States in every other quarter, Great-Britain 
may find a pledge much more efficacious for the safety 
of a single vulnerable point, than in stipulations ru- 
inous to the interests and degrading to the honor of 
4merica. The best security for the possessions of 
both countries will, however, be found in an equal 
and solid peace ; in a mutual respect for tbe rights of 
each other, and in the cultivation of a friendly under- 
standing between them. If there be any source of 
jealousy in relation to Canada itself, it will be found 
to exist solely in the undue interference of traders 
and agents, which may be easily removed by proper 
restraints. 

The only American forts on the lakes known to 
have been, at the commencement of the negociation, 
lield by British force, are IMichilimackinac and Ni- 
agara. As the U. States were, at the same time, in 
possession of Amherslburg and the adjacent country 
it is not perceived that the mere occupation of tho.se 
two forts could give any claim to his Britannic ma- 
jesty to large cessions of territory, founded upon the 



APPENDIX. a85 

right of conquest; and the undersigned may be per- 
mitted to add, that even if the chances of war should 
yield to the British arms a momentary possession of 
other parts of the territories of the U. States such 
events would not alter their view with resfard to the 
terms of peace to which they would give their consent. 
Without recurring to examples drawn from the re- 
volutionary governments of France, or to a more re- 
cent and illustrious triumph of fortitude in adversity, 
they have been taught by their own history that the 
occupation of their principal cities would produce no 
despondency, nor induce their submission to the dis- 
memberment of their empire, or to the abandoimient 
of any one of the rights which constitute a part of 
their national independence. 

The general position, that it was consistent with 
the principle of public law, and with the practice of 
civilized nations, to include allies in a treaty of peace, 
and to provide for their security, never was called in 
qnestion by the undersigned. But they have denied 
the right of Great-Britain, according to those princi- 
ples and her own [)ractice, to interfere in any man- 
ner with Indian tribes residing within the territories 
of the U. States, as acknowledged by herself, to con- 
sider such tribes as her allies, or to treat for them with 
the U. States. Tiiey will not repeat the facts and 
arguments already brotight forward by them in sup- 
poi't of this position, and which remain unanswered. 
Ttie observations made by the British plenipotentia- 
ries on the treaty of Greenville, and their assertion 
that the U. States now, for the first time, deny the 
absolute independence of the Indian tribes, and claim 
the exclusive right of purchasing their lands, require, 
however, some notice. 

If the U. States had now asserted, that the Indians 
within their boundaries, who have acknowledged the 
IJ. Stales as their only protectors were their subjects, 
living only at sufferance on their lands, far from being 
the first in making that assertion, they would onlv 
have followed the example on the principles, nni 
49 



.386 APPENDIX. 

formly and invariably aa^serted in subslance, and fre- 
quently avowed in ex^)ress terms by the British gov- 
ernment itself. What was the meaning- of all the 
colonial charters granted by the British monarchy, 
from that of Virginia, by Elizabeth, to that otGeorgia, 
by the immediate predecessor of the present king, if 
the Indians were the sovereigns and proprietors of 
the lands bestowed by those charters ? What was 
the meaung of that article in the treaty of LJtrecht, 
by which the live nations were described, in terms, as 
subject to the dominion of Great Britain ? or that of 
the treaty w ith the Cherokees, by which it was de- 
clared that the king oi Great Britain granted them 
the privilege to live where they pleased, if those sub- 
jects were independent sovereigns, and if these ten- 
ants, at the licence of ihe British king, were the right- 
ful lords of the lands where he granted them permis- 
sion to live :' What was the meaning of that procla- 
mation of his present Britannic majesty issued in 
3 7G3, declaring all purchases of lands from the In- 
dians null and void, unless made by tieaties held un- 
der the sanction of his majesty's government, if the 
Indians had the rigitt to sell their lands to whom they 
pleased? W^hat was the meaning of boundary lines 
ol American territories, in all the treaties of G. Bri- 
tain with other European powers having American 
possessions, particularly in the treaty of 1763^ by 
w hich she acquired from France the sovereignty and 
possession of the Ganadas ; in her treaty of |>eace v. ith 
the U States in 1783; nay, wbat is the meaning of 
the north western boundary line now proposed by the 
British connnissioners themselvCvS, it" it is the riglitful 
possession and sovereignty of independent Indians, 
ol uliich these boundaries dispose? Is it indeed, ne- 
cessary to ask, whether Great Britain ever has per- 
nntted, or would permit, any foreign nation, or with- 
out her consent, any of her subjects, to acquire lands 
from the Indians, in the territories of the Hudson bay 
company, or in Canada? In formally protesting 
against this system, it is not against a novel preten- 
sion of the American government, it is against the 



APPENDIX. 387, 

most solemn acts of their own sovereig-ns, aorainst the 
rova! proclamations, charters, and treaties of G. Bri- 
tain, for more than two centuries, from the lirst settle- 
ment of North America to the present day, that the 
British plenipotentiaries j)rotest. 

From the riij^or of this system, however, as practis- 
ed by Great-Britain, and all other European powers 
in America, the humane and liberal policy of the U. 
States has volunt<inly relaxed. A celebrated writer 
on the laws of nations, to whose aulhm'ity British ju- 
rists have taken particular satisfaction in appealino", 
after staling-, in the most explicit niaimer, tlie lei;'it- 
imacy of colonial settlements in America, the excHu- 
sion of all rights of uncivili/.ed liidian lril.es, has tak- 
en occasion to praise the tirst settlers of IVew-Eiig-- 
land, and the founder of Pennsylvania, in, h;»vino- pur- 
chased of the Indians the lands thev resolved to cul- 
tivate, notwithstanding' their bein:;' furnished with a 
charter from their sovereig-n. It is this example, 
which the U. Stales, since they became by their in- 
dependence, the sovereigns of the territory, have 
adopted and organized into a political system. Cin- 
der that system, the Indians residing within the U. 
States are so far independent that they live under 
their own customs, and not under the laws of the U. 
States, that their rights upon the lands where they 
inhabit, or hunt, are secured to them bv boundaries de- 
fined in amicable treaties between the U. States and 
themselves; and that whenever those boundaries were 
varied, it is also by amicable and voluntary treaties, by 
which they receive from the U. Slates ample compen- 
sation for every right they have to the lands ceded to 
them. Tliey are so far dependent as not to have the 
right to dispose of their lands to i)rivate persons, nor 
to any power other than the United Slates, and to be 
under their protection alone, and not under that of 
any otiier power. Whether called subjects, or by 
whatever name designated, such is the relation be- 
tween them and the United States. — That relation is 
neither asserted now for the first time, noi* did it ori- 
ginate with the treaty of Greenville. These priuci- 



ii88 4PPENDIX. 

ple<i have been unifonnly recognized by the Indians 
themselves, not only by that treaty, but in all the olh- 
er previous as well as suijsequent treaties betvveert 
them and the U. States. 

The treaty of Greenville neither took from the In- 
dians the right, \Ahich they had not, of sellin"' lands 
within the jurisdiction of the U. States to foreig^n 
governments or subjects, nor ceded to them tjje ri2:ht 
of exercising" exclusive jurisdiction within the boun- 
dary line assigned. It was merely declaratory of 
the public law in relation to the parties, founded on 
principles previously and universally recognized. It 
left to I he U. States the rights of exercising sove- 
reignty and of acquiring soil, and bears no analogy 
to the proposition of Great Britain which requires the 
abandonment of both. 

The British plenipotentiaries state in their last note, 
that Great Britain is ready to enter into the same en- 
gagement with respect to the Indians living within 
her lineof demarkation, as that which is proposed to 
the U. States. ^ — The undersigned will not dwell on 
the immense inequality of value between the two ter- 
ritories, which under such an arrangen»ent, would be 
assigned, by each nation respectively to the Indians, 
and which alone would make th.e reciprocity merely 
nominal. The condition which would be thus iniposed 
on Great Britain not to acquire lands in Canada from 
the Indians, would be productive of no advantage to 
lite U. States, and is, therefore, no equivalent tor the 
sacrifice required oflliem. They do not consider 
that it belongs to the U. Slates in any res})ecl to in- 
terfere with the concerns of Great Britain in her 
American possessions, or with her policy towards 
the Indians residino' there: and thev cannot consent 
to any interference, on the part of Great Britain, with 
their own concerns, and particularly with the Indians 
Jiving within their territories. It may be the inter- 
est of G. Britain to limit her setllemenls in Canada 
to their present extent, and to leave the country to 
the West a [)erpetual wilderness, to be for ever in- 
habited by scattered tribes of hunters : but it would 



AVPES-Dix. 389 

intlict a vital injury on the U. States to liave a line 
run throui(h her territoiy, be\ond which her settle- 
ments shoiiltl forever be preclnded from extending-, 
thereby urresting- the natural growth of her popula- 
tion and strength ; placing the Indians substantially, 
by virtue of the proposed guarantee, under the pro- 
tection of G, Britain; dooming them to perpetual 
barbarism, and leavinof an extensive frontier for ever 
exposed to their savage incursions. 

With respect to the mere question of peace with 
the Indians, the undersigned have already explicitly 
assured the British plenipotentiaries that so far as it 
depended on the U. States, it would immediately 
and necessarily follow a peace with G. Britain. If 
this be her sole object, no provision in the treaty to 
that effect is necessary. Provided the Indians will 
now consent to it, peace will unmediately be made 
with them, and they will be reinstated in the same 
situation in which thev stood before the commence- 
ment ot hostilities. Should a contimiance of the war 
compel the U. States to alter their policy towaj-ds the 
Indians, who may still take the part of ii. Britain, 
they alone must be responsible for the consequences 
of her own act in having induced them to withdraw 
themselves from the protection of the U. States. 
The employment of savages, whose known rule of 
warfare is the indiscriminate torture and butchery of 
women, children, and prisoners, is itself a departure 
from the principles of humanity observed between all 
civilized and christian nations, even in war. 

The U. States have constantly protested, and still 
protest against it as an unjustitiable aggravation of 
the calamities and horrors of war. — Of the [jecnliar 
atrocities of Indian warfare, the allies of G. Britain 
in whose behalf she now demands sacrifices of the U. 
States, have during the present war, shewn many de- 
plorable examples. Among them, the massacre in 
cold blood, of wounded prisoners, and the refusal of 
the rights of burial to the dead, under the eyes of 
British officers v.ho could only plead their inability 
to controul these savage auxiliaries, have been re^ 



390 APPENDIX. 

peated, and are notorious to the world. The United 
States might at all times have employed the same 
kind of force against G. Britain, to a greater extent 
than it was in her power to employ it against them ; 
but from their reluctance to resort to means so abhor- 
rent to the natural feelings of humanity, they abstain- 
ed from the use of them until compelled to the alter- 
native of employing themselves Indians, who other- 
%vise would have been drawn into the ranks of their 
enemies. The undersigned suggesting to the British 
plenipotentiaries the propriety of an article by which 
G. Britain and the U. States should reciprocally 
stipulate never hereafter, if they should be again at 
war, to employ savages in it, believe that it would be 
infinitely more honorable to the humanity and chris- 
tian temper of both parties, more advantageous to the 
Indians themselves, and better adapted to secure their 
permanent peace, tranquility, and progressive civil- 
ization, than the boundary proposed by the British 
plenipotentiaries. 

With regard to the cession of apart of the district 
of Maine, as to which the British plenipotentiaries 
are unable to reconcile the objections made by the 
undersigned with their previous declaration, they 
have the honor to observe, that at the conference of 
the 8th ult. the British plenipotentiaries stated as one 
of the subjects suitable for discussion, a revision of the 
boundary line between the British and American ter- 
ritories, with a view to prevent uncertainty and dis- 
pute: and that it was on the point thus stated, that 
the undersigned declared that they were provided 
with instructions from their government j a declara- 
tion which did not imply that they were instructed 
to make any cession of territory in any quarter, or 
agree to a revision of the line, or to any exchange of 
territory, where no uncertainty or dispule existed. 

The undersigned perceive no uncertainty or mat- 
ter of doubt in the treaty of 1783, with respect to that 
part of the boundary of the district of Maine which 
would be affected by the proposal of G. Britain on 
that subject. They never have understood that the 



APPENDIX. 591 

British plenipotentiaries who signed that treaty, had 
coiitemplated a boundary different from that fixed by 
the treaty; and which requires nothing more, in or- 
der to be definitely ascertamed, than to be surveyed 
in conformity with its provisions. This subject not 
having been a matter of uncertainty or dispute, the 
undersigned are not instructed upon it ; and they can 
have no authority to cede any part of the state of IVlas- 
sachusetts, even for what the Britisii government 
might consider a fair equivalent. 

In regard to ihe boundary of the northwestern 
frontier, so soon as the proposition of Indian bound- 
ary is disposed of, the undersigned have no objec- 
tion, with the explanation given by the British Ple- 
uipotenttaries in their last note, to discuss the subject. 

The undersigned, in their former note, stated with 
frankness, and will now repeat, that tlie two propo- 
sitions, 1st, of assigtniig in the proposed treaty of 
peace a definite boundary to the Indians livmg with- 
in the hmits of the United States, beyond which 
boundary they should stipulate not to acquire, by pur- 
chase or otherwise, any territory ; 2dly, of securing 
the exchisive military possession of the lakes to Great- 
Britain, are both inudniissible ; and that they cannot 
subscribe to, and woukldeem it useless to refer to their 
government, any arrangement, even provisional, con- 
taining either of these propositions. Witli this un- 
derstanding, the undersigned are now ready to con- 
tinue the negociation ; and as tliey have already ex- 
pressed, to discuss all the points of difference, or 
\vhif:ii might hereafter tend in any degree to interrupt 
the harmony of the two countries. 

The undersigned request the British plenipoten- 
tiaries to accept the assurance of their high conside- 
ration. 



.1. a. ADAMS, 
J. A.BAYARR 
II. CLAY. 



J ON A. IIUSSELL. 
A. GALLATIN 



392 APPENDIX. 

The British to the American Commimoners. 

Ghent, Sept. 19th, 1814. 
The niidersigned have the honor to acknowledsje 
the receipt of the note addressed to them by the 
American plenipotentiaries on the 9th inst. 

On the g-reater part of tliat note, the undersigned 
have no intention to make comments, having- pro- 
posed to themselves throughout tlie negociation to 
avoid all unnecessary discussions, more especially 
uhen tending* to create irritation. 

On the question of the northwestern frontiers, they 
are happy to find that no material difficulty is likely 
to arise. 

With respect to the boundary of the District of 
Maine, the undersigned observe with regret, that 
although the American plenipotentiaries have ac- 
knowledged themselves to be instructed to discuss a: 
revision of the boundary line, with a view to prevent 
micertainty and dispute, yet, by assuming an exclu- 
sive right at once to decide what is or is not a subject 
of uncertainty and dispute, they have rendered their 
powers imgatory or inadmissibly partial in their cpe- 
ration. 

After the declaration made by the American ple- 
nipotentiaries, that the U. States will admit of no liiie 
of boundary between iheir territory and that of the 
Indian nations, because the natural growth and popu- 
lation of the U. States would be thereby arrested, it 
becomes unnecessary further to insist on the proof of 
a spirit of aggrandizement afforded by the purchase 
of Louisiana froni France, against the known con- 
ditions on which it had been ceded by Spain to tliat 
country, or the hostile seizure of a great part of the 
Floridas, under a pretence of a dispute respecting ih'^ 
boundary. 

Tlie reason given by the American [)lenipotenlia- 
ries for this declanition, equally applies to the assign- 
ment of a boundary to the U. Stales on any side, with 
whatever view proposed ; and the unlimited natntp 
of the pretension would alone hav€ justified G. Bri- 
tain in seeking more effectual securities against il«« 



APPENDIX. S93 

iappiication to Canada, than any which the under- 
signed have had the honor to propose. 

Had the American plenipotentiaries been instruct- 
ed on the subject of Canada, they would not have 
asserted that its permanent annexation had not been 
the declared object of their government. It has been 
distinctly avowed to be such at different times, par- 
ticularly by two American generals on their respect- 
ive invasions of Canada. If the declaration first 
made had been disapproved, it would not have been 
repeated. The declarations here referred to are to 
be found in the proclamation of general Hull, in Ju- 
ly, 1812, and of general Smyth, in November, 1812, 
copies of which are hereunto annexed. 

It must be also from the want of instructions that 
the American plenipotentiaries have been led to as- 
sert that G. Britain has induced the Indians to with- 
draw from the protection of the U. States. The 
government of the U. Slates cannot have forgotten 
that Great-Britain, so far from inducing the Indian* 
to withdraw themselves from the protection of the 
U. States, gave the earliest information of the inten- 
tion of those nations to invade the U. States, and ex- 
erted herself, though without success, to prevent and 
appease their hostility. The Indian nations, how- 
ever, having experienced, as they thought, oppression, 
instead of protection from the U. Stales, declared 
War against them previously to the declaration of war 
by that country against G. Britain. The treaty by 
which the Indians placed themselves under the pro- 
tection of the U. States, is now abrogated, and the 
American government cannot be entitled to claim, 
as a right, the renewal of an article in a treaty, which 
has no longer any existence. The Indian nations 
are therefore no longer to be considered as under the 
protection of the United States, (whatever may be 
the import of that term) and it can only be on ihfc 
ground that tliey are regarded as subjects, that the 
American plenipotentiaries can be authorized to deii\ 
the right of Great-Britain to interfere on their liehrdi' 
50 



394 APPENDIX. 

in the neg'ociations for peace. To any such claift/, 
it is repeated, that the treaties concluded with them, 
and particularly that of Greenville, are in direct op- 
position. 

It is not necessary to recur to the manner in which 
the territory of the United Stales was at first settled, 
in order to decide, whether the Indian nations, the 
oris^mal inhabitants of America, shall have some spot 
assigned to them, where they may be permitted to 
live in tranquility ; nor whether their tranquility can 
be secured without preventing' an uniiiVernipted sys- 
tem of encroachment upon them under the pretence 
of purchase. 

If the American plenipotentiaries are authorized 
peremptorily to deny the right of the British govern- 
ment to interfere with the pacification of the Indian 
nations, and for that reason refuse all negociations 
on the subject, the undersigned are at a loss to under- 
stand, upon what principle it was, that at the confer- 
ence of the 9th ultimo, the American plenipotentia- 
ries invited discussion on the subject, and added, tiiat 
it was not posi<ible for them to decide without discus- 
sion, whether -an article could be framed which should 
be mutually satisfactory, and to which they should 
think themselves, under their discretionary powers, 
warranted in acceding. 

The undersigned must further observe, that if the 
American government has not furnished their pleni- 
potentiaries with any instructions since Jaiiuary last, 
when the general pacification oi Europe could not 
have been immediately in contemr>lation, this subse- 
quent silence, after an event so calculated (even in 
the view which the American plenipotentiaries have 
taken of it, in their note of the 24th ult.) to influ- 
ence the negociation, is, to say the least, no proof of 
a sincere desire to bring it to a favorable conclusion. 
The British government has entered into the negoci- 
ation with an anxious wish to eflect an amicable ar- 
rangement. After convu'sions unexampled in their 
nature, extent, and duration, the civilized world has 
Deed •i' repose. To obtam this in Europe, G. Bri- 



APPENDIX, 895 

tain lias made considerable sacrifices. To complete 
the work of general pacification, it is her earnest wish 
to establish a peace w;lh the U. States, and in her en- 
deavors to accomplish this object, to manifest the 
same principles of moderation and forbearance ; but 
it IS utterly inconsistent with her practice and her 
principles ever to al)andon ni her neg^ociations for 
peace, those who have co-operated with her in war. 

The undersigned, therefore, repeat, that the British 
g-overnment is willing to sign a treaty of peace with 
the U. States on terms honorable to both parlies. It 
lias not offered any terms which the U. States can 
justly represent as derogatory to their honor, nor can 
it be induced to accede to any which are injurious to 
its own. It IS on this ground that the uudersigned arc 
authorized distinctly to declare, that they are instruct- 
ed not to sign a treaty of peace with the plenipoten- 
tiaries of the U. Stales, unless the Indian nations arc 
included in it, and restored to all the rights, privile- 
ges, and territories, \Ahich they enjoyed in the year 
1811, previous to the commencement of the war, 
by virtue of the treaty of Greenville, and the treaties 
subsequently concluded between them and the United 
States. From this point the British plenipotentiaries 
cannot depart. 

They are further instructed to offer for discussion 
an article by which the contracting parties shall re- 
ciprocally bind themselves, according to boundaries 
to be agreed upon, not to purchase the lands occu- 
pied by the Indians within their respective lines of 
demarcation. By making this engagement subject 
to revision at the expiration of a given period, it is 
hoped that the objection to the establishment of a 
boundary beyond which the settlement of the United 
States should be forever excluded, may be efFectual- 
ly obviated. 

The undersigned have never stated that the exclu- 
sive military possessions on the lakes, however con- 
ducive they are satisfied it would be to a good under- 
standing between the two countries, without endan- 
gering the security of the U. States, was to be coa- 



39G APPENDIX. 

sidered as a sine qua non in the neg'ocialion, When^ 
ever the question relative to the pacification of the 
Indian nations (which, subject to the explanations 
already given, is a sine qua non,) shall be adjusted, 
the undersigned will be authorized to make a final 
proposition on the subject of Canadian boundaries, 
so entirely founded on principles of moderation and 
justice, that they feel confident it cannot be rejected. 
This proposition will be distinctly stated by the un- 
dersigned, upon receiving" an assurance from the 
American plenipotentiaries that they consider them- 
selves authorized to conclude a provisional article on 
the subject, and upon their previously consenting to 
include the Indian nations in the treaty, in the man- 
ner above described. 

The undersigned avail themselves of this oppor- 
tunity ofrenewuig tothe American plenipotentiaries, 
the assurance of their high consideration, 

GAMBIER, 

HENRY GOULBURN, 
WILLIAM ADAMS. 

The American to the British Commissioners. 

Ghent, Sept. 26, 1814. 
In replying to the note which the undersigned 
iiave had the honor of receiving from his Britannic 
majesty's plenipotentiaries, dated on the 19lh inst. 
they are happy to concur with them in the sentiment 
of avoiding unnecessary discussions, especially such 
as may have a tendency to create irritation. They 
had hoped that, in the same spirit, the British pleni- 
potentiaries would not have thought allusions again 
uecessarv to transactions foreign to this negociation, 
relating to the United States, and other independent 
nations, and not suitable for discussion between the 
United States and Great-Britain. The observation 
made with respect to Louisiana is the more extraor- 
dinary, as the cession of that province to the United 
States was, at the time, communicated to the British 
government, who expressed their entire satisfaction 
*vith it, and has subsequently received the solemn 



APPENDIX. 397 

sanction of Spain lierself. The undersigned will 
further sav, that whenever the transactions of the U. 
States, in relation to the boundaries of Louisiana and 
Florida, shall be a proper subject of discussion, they 
will be found not only susceptible of complete justi- 
tication, but will demonstrate the moderation and 
forbearance of the American government, and their 
undeviating- respect for the rights of their neighbors. 

The uj;dersigned are far from assuming the ex- 
clusive right to decide, what is, or is not, a subject 
of uncertainty and dispute, with regard to the bound- 
ary of the District of Manie. But until the British 
plenipotentiaries shall have shown in what respect the 
part of that boundary which would be affected by 
their proposal, is such a subject, the undersigned 
may be permitted to assert that it is not. 

The treaty of 1783 described the boundary as *a 
line to be drawn along the middle of the ri\er St. 
Croix, from its mouth in the bay of Fundy, to its 
source, and from its source directly north to the high- 
lands which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlan- 
tic ocean from those which fall into the siver St. 
Lawrence, and thence along the said highlands to the 
nortliwesternmosf head of Connecticut river.' 

Doubts having arisen as to the St. Croix designa- 
ted in the treaty of 1783, a provision was made by 
that of 1794 for ascertaining it : and it miiy be fairly 
inferred, from the limitation of the article to that 
sole object, that even in the judgment of G. Britain, 
no other subject of controversy existed in relation to 
the extension of the boundary line from the source of 
that river. That river and its source having been ac- 
cordingly ascertained, the undersigned are prepared 
to propose the appointment of commissioners by the 
two governments, to extend the line to the highlands, 
conformably to the treaty of 1783.^ The proposal, 
however, of the British Plenipotentiaries was not to as- 
certain, but to vary those lines in such manner as to 
secure a direct communication between Quebec and 
Halifax ; an alteration which could not be effected 
Without a cession by the the U. States to G. Britain 



^98 APPENDIX, 

of all that portion of the state of Massachusetts iuter- 
vening between the province of New Brunswick and 
Quebec, although unquestionably included within the 
boundary lines fixed by that treaty. Whether it was 
con tern [)lated on the part of G. Britain to obtain the 
cession, with or without an equivalent in frontier or 
otherwise, the uiidersig^ned, in stating that they were 
not nistructed or authorised to treat on the subject of 
cession, have not declined to discuss any matter of 
uncertauity or dispute which the British Plenipoten- 
tiaries may point out to exist, respecting the bounda- 
ries in that or in any other quarter, and are, therefore, 
not liable to the imputation of having rendered their 
powers on the subject nugatory or inadniissibly par- 
tial in their operation. 

The British plenipotentiaries consider the under- 
signed as having declared, * that the U. States will 
admit of no line of boundary between their territory 
and that of the Indian nations because the natural 
growth and population of the U. States would be 
thereby arrested.' Tiie undersigned, on the contra- 
ry, expressly stated ni their last note * that the lands 
inhabited by the Indians were secured to them by 
boundaries, defined in amicable treaties between them 
and the U- States :' but they did refuse to assign, in 
a treaty of peace with G. Britain, a definitive and 
permanent boundary to the Indians, living within the 
limits of the U. States. On this subject, the under- 
signed have no hesitation in avowing, that the U. 
States, wiiile intending never to acquire lands from 
the Indians otherwise than peaceably, and with their 
free consent, are fully determined in that manner, 
progressively, and in proportion as their growing po- 
])ulation may require, to reclaim from the state of na- 
ture and to bring into cultivation every portion of the 
territory contained within their acknowledged boun- 
daries. In thus providing for the support ot" millions 
of civilized beings, they will not violate any dictate of 
justice or humanity, for they will not only give to the 
few thousand savages, scattered over that territory, 
an ample equivalent for any right they may surren-- 



APPENDIX. 399 

der, but will always leave them the possession of 
lands more than they can cultivate, and more than 
adequate to their subsistence, comfort and enjoyment 
by cultivation. 

If this be a spirit of ag-grandizement, the undei-sig-n- 
ed are prepared to admit, in that sense, its existence ; 
but they must deny that it affords the slightest prooi* 
of an intention not to respect the boundaries between 
them and Euro|X?au nations, or of a desire to en- 
croach upon the territories of G. Britain. If, in the 
progress of their increasing- population, the American 
people must grow in streng^th j)roportioned to their 
numbers, the undersigned will hope that G. Britain, 
far from repining at the prospect, will contemplate it 
with satisfaction. They will not suppose that that gov- 
ernment will avow, as the basis of their policy towards 
the U. States, the system of arresting their natural 
growth within their own territories, for the sake of 
preserving a perpetual desert for savages. IfG. Bri- 
taui has made sacrifices to give repose to the civilized 
world in Europe, no sacrifice is required from her by 
theU. Stales to complete the work of general pacifi- 
cation. This negociation at least evinces, on their 
part, no disposition to claim any other right, than that 
of preserving their independence entire, and of gov- 
eriung their own territories without foreign interfer- 
ence. 

Of the two proclamations, purported copies of 
which the British plenipotentiaries have thought 
proper to enclose with their last note, the undersigned 
might content themselves with remarking, that neith- 
er of them is the act of the American government. 
They are enabled however to add, with perfect con- 
fidence, that neither of them was authorised or ap- 
proved by that government. The undersigned are 
not disposed to consider as the act of the British gov- 
ernment, the proclamation of Admiral Cochrane, 
herewith enclosed, exciting a portion of the popula- 
tion of the U. States, under the promise of military 
employment, or of free settlement in the West-Indies, 
to treachery and rebellion. The undersigned very 



400 APPENDIX. 

sincerely regret to be ol)liored to say, that an irresist^-. 
ble mass of evidence, consisting principally of the 
correspondence of British officers and agents, part on- 
ly of which lias already been published in America, 
establishes beyond all rational doubt, the fact, that a 
constant system of excitement to those hostilities was 
pursued by the British traders and agents, who had 
access to the Indians, not only without being discoun- 
tenanced, but with frequent encouragement by the 
British authorities ; and that if they ever dissuaded 
the Indians from commencing hostilities, it was only 
by urging them, as in prudence, to suspend their 
attacks, until G. Britain should recognize them as her 
allies in the war. 

When, in the conference of ihe 9lh ult. the under- 
signed inviled discussion upon the proposal of Indian 
pacification and boundary, as well as upon all the 
subjects presented by the British plenipotentiaries for 
discussion, they expressly staled their motives to be, 
1st, to ascertain by discussion whether an article on 
the subject could be formed to which they could sub- 
scribe, and which would be satisfactory to the British 
plenipotentiaries; and -dly, that if no such article 
could be formed, the American government might be 
informed of the views of G. Britain upon that point, 
and the British government of the objections on the 
part of the United States, to any such arrangement. 
The undersigned have, in fact, already proposed no 
less than three articles on the subject, all of which 
they view as better calculated lo secure peace and 
tranquility to the Indians, than any one of the propo- 
sals for that purpose, made by the British plenipoten- 
tiaries. 

Tiie undersigned had repealed Iheir assurances to 
the British plenipotentiaries, that peace, so far as it 
depended on the United States, would immediately 
follow a peace with (i. Britain, and added, thai the 
Indians would thereby be reinstated in the same 
situation in which Ihev stood before the commence- 
ment of hostilities. The British plenipotentiaries 
insist, in their lant nole, that the Indian nations shall 



APPENDIX. 401 

be included in the treaty of peace between Great- 
Britain and the U. States, and be restored to all the 
ri«rhts, jirivileges, and territories which they enjoyed 
in the year 1811, previons to their commencement 
of thi! war, by virtue of the treaty of Greenville, 
and the treaties sul)seqnently conchided between 
thetn and the U. States. Settinij aside the subject of 
boundary, which is presented as for discussion only, 
there is no apparent difference with respect to the 
object in view ; the pacification and tranquility of the 
Indians, and placing them in the same situation ia 
which they stood before the war, all which will be 
equally obtained in the manner proposed by the un- 
dersig-ned, and the only point of real difference is, 
the British plenipotentiaries insist that it should be 
ilone by including the Indians, us allies of G. Bri- 
tain, in the treaty of peace between her and the IT, 
States. 

The tJ. States cannot consent that Indians residing 
within their boundaries, as acknowledged by Great- 
Britain, shall be included in the treaty of peace, ia 
any manner which will recognize them as independ- 
ent nations, whom G. Britain, having obtained this 
recognition, would hereafter, have the right to con-' 
sider in every respect, as such. Tims to recognize 
these Indians as independent and sovereign nations, 
would take from the IJ. States, and transfer to those 
Indians, all the rights of soil and sovereignty over 
the territory which they inhabit; and this being ac- 
complished through the agency of G. Britain, would 
place them effectually and exclusively under her pro- 
tection, instead of being, as heretofore, under that 
of the U. States. It is not perceived in what res- 
pect such a provision would differ from an absolute 
cession by the U. States of the extensive territory in 
question. 

The British plenipolentiaries have repeated the 

assertion, that the treaty by which the Indians placed 

themselves under the protection of the U. States, 

was abrogated by the war; and thence infer, that tliev 

51 



402 APPENDIX. 

are no long-er to be considered as under tlie protec- 
tion of the U. States, whatever may be the import 
of the term ; and that the right of G. Britain to in- 
terfere in their behalf in the negociation of peace, 
can only be denied on the ground that ihey are re- 
garded as subjects. In point of fact, several of the 
tribes, parties to the treaty of Greenville, have con- 
stantly been, and still are, at peace with the United 
States. Whether that treaty be, or be not abrogated, 
is a question not necessary to be now discussed. The 
right of the U. States to the protection of the Indians 
within their boundaries, was not acquired by that 
treaty ; it was a necessary consequence of the sove- 
reignty and independence of the U. States. Previ- 
ous to that lime the Indians living within the same 
territory, were under the protection of his Britannic 
majesty, as its sovereign. The undersigned may 
refer the British plenipotentiaries to all the acts of their 
own government, relative to the subject, for proof, 
that it has always considered this right of protection 
as one of the rights of sovereignty, which it needed 
no Indian treaty to confer, and which the abrogation 
of no Indian treaty could divest. They will particu- 
larly bring to their recollection, that m hen a similar 
proposition of considering Indian tribes as independ- 
ent nations, to serve as a barrier between the French 
and English territories, was made by France to 
England, it was immediately rejected, by a minister 
to whom the British nation is accustomed to look back 
with veneration, and rejected on the express ground, 
that the king would not renounce his right to pro- 
tection over the Indians within his dominions. But 
whatever the relation of the Indians to ihe U. States 
may be, and whether under their protection or not, 
G. Britain having by the treaty of 178-3, recognized 
the sovereignty of the U. States, and agreed to certain 
limits as their boundaries, has no right to consider 
any persons or communities, whether Indians or 
others, residing within those boundaries, as ualions 
independent of the U. Stales^ 



APPENDIX. 403 

The U. States claim, of rig^ht, with respect to all 
European nations, and particularly with respect to 
G. Britain, the entire sovereignty over the whole 
territory, and all the persons embraced within the 
boundaries of their dominions. G. Britain has no 
rig-ht to take cognizance of the relations subsisting- 
between the several communities or persons living' 
therein. They form as to her, only parts of the do- 
minions of the U. States, and it is altogether inmiate- 
rial, whether, or how far, under tlieir political insti- 
tutions and policy, these communities or persons arc 
independent states, allies, or subjects. With respect 
to her and all other foreign nations, they are parts of 
a whole, of which the U. States are the sole and ab- 
solute sovereigns. 

The alleg"ation of the British plenipotentiaries, that 
it is inconsistent with the practice or prniciples of G. 
Britain to abandon in her negociations for peace, those 
who have co-operated with her in war, is not appli- 
cable to the Indians, but on the erroneous assumption 
of their independence, which, so far as she is concern- 
ed, has been fully disproved. And although no powv 
er from these tribes to the British government to treat 
in their behalf, would, for the same reason be admit- 
ted by the nndersig-ned, they may nevertheless ob 
serve, that the British plenipotentiaries having- produc- 
ed no such powers, having no authority to bind the 
Indians, to engage for their assent to the pacification, 
or to secure the continuance of peace on their part 
whilst speaking of them as allies, do really propose 
to treat for them not as if they were independent 
nations, but as if they were the subjects of G. Britain. 
The undersigned so far from asking- that, in rela- 
tion to the Indians, G. Britain should pursue a course 
inconsistent with her former practice and principles, 
only desire that she would follow her own example re- 
specting them, in her former treaties with other Europe- 
an nations, and with the U. States. No provision for 
the Indians is found in the treaty of 176-3, by which 
France ceded Canada to G. Britain, although almost 
alllhe Indians living- within the territory ceded, or 



404 APPENDIX. 

acknowleclgecl to belong to G. Britain, had taken 
part with France in the war. No such provision was 
inserted in the treaty of peace of 1783, between ' . Bri- 
tain and the U. States, aUhough almost all tl.e Indian 
tribes living^ within the territory recognized by the 
treaty to belong to the U. States, had during the war, 
co-operated wilh G. Britain, and might have been 
considered as her alhes more justly than on the pre- 
sent occasion. So far as concerns the relations be- 
tween G. Britain and the U. States, these Indians can 
he treated for only on the principles by which amnes- 
ties are stipulated in favor of disaffected persons, who, 
in times of war and invasion, co-operate with the en- 
emy of the nation to which they belong. To go as 
far as possible in securing the benefit of the peace lo 
the Indians, now the only object professed by the 
British government in their present sine qua noii, the 
undersigned offer a stipulation in general terms, that 
no person or persons, whether subjects, citizens, or 
Indians, residing within the dominions of either par- 
ty, shall be molested or annoyed, eitlier in persons or 
their property, for any part they may have taken in 
the war between the U. States and G. Britain ; but 
shall retain all ihe rights, privileges and possessions, 
which they respectively had at the commencement of 
the war; they, on their part, demeaning themselves 
peaceably, and conformably to their duties to the re- 
spective governments. — This the undersigned have 
no doubt will effectually secure to the Indians peace, 
if they themselves will observe it, and they will not 
suppose thatG. Britain would wish them included in 
the peace but upon that condition- 

The undersigned have never intimated that their 
government had not furnished them wilh any instruc- 
tions since January last. On the contrary, they dis- 
tinctly told the British plenipotentiaries in confer- 
once, though it appears to have escaped their recol- 
lection, that instructions had been received by the un- 
dersigned, dated at the close of the month of June. 
The undersigned will now add, that those instructions 
were drawn with a full knowledge of the general pa- 



APPENDIX. 405 

<:ification in Europe, and with so liberal a considera- 
tion of its necessary bearing- upon ail the differences 
that had been until then subsisting between G. Bri- 
tain and the U. States, that the undersigned cannot 
doubt that peace would long- since have been conclud- 
ed, had not an insuperable bar against it been raised 
by the new and unprecedented demands of the Bri- 
tish government. 

With respect to the proposition which the British 
plenipotentiaries inform them they will be prepared 
to make, in relation to the Canadian boundaries, 
which appears to them so entirely founded on princi- 
ples of moderation and justice, but the nature of which 
they think proper at present to withhold, the under- 
signed can only pledge themselves to meet any pro- 
position from the British plenipotentiaries, character- 
ized by moderation and justice, not only with a per- 
fect reciprocity of those sentiments, but with a sincere 
and earnest desire to contribute to the restoration of 
peace, by every comphance with the wishes of Great 
Britain, compatible with their duty to their country. 

The undersigned have the honor of tendering- to 
the British plenipotentiaries, the renewed assurance 
of their hioh consideration. 



JONA. RUSSELL, 
A. GALLATIN. 



J. a ADAMS, 
J. A. BAYAHD, 
H. OLAY, 

The British to the American Commissioners 



Ghent, Oct. 8, 1814. 

The undersigned have the honor to acknowledge 
the receipt of the note of the plenipotentiaries of the 
U. States, dated on the 29th ult. 

As the continuance of the neg-ociation exclusively 
depends upon the question relating to the pacifica- 
tion and rights of the Lidian nations the undersigned 
are unwilling- to extend their observations to the 
other subjects brought forward in the note of the 
American plenipotentiaries, further than may be 
required for necessary explanation. 

h\ adverting- for this purpose to the acquisition of 
XiOuisiana, the undersigned must observe, thai the 



406 APPKNDIX. 

instrument by which the consent of his Catholic ma- 
jesty is alJedged to have been given to tlie cession o{ 
it, has never been made public. His Cathohc ma- 
jesty .was no party to the treaty by which the ces- 
sion was made, and if any sanction has been subse- 
quently obtained from him, it must have been, hke 
other cotem para neous acts of that monarch, involun- 
tary, and as such cannot alter the character of the 
transaction. The Maiqnis of Yrujo, the minister of 
his Catholic majesty at Washington, iu a letter ad- 
dressed to the President of the U. States, formally 
protested against the cession, and the right of France 
to make it. Yet, in the face of this protestation, so 
stroiigly evincing the decided opinion of Spain as 
to the illegality of the proceeding, the President of 
the U. States ratified the treaty. Can it be contend- 
ed that the annexation of Louisiana, under such cir- 
cumstances, did not mark a spirit of territorial ag- 
grandizement ? 

His Britannic majesty did certainly express satis- 
faction when the American government communi- 
cated the event, that Louisiana, a valuable colony in 
the possession of France, with whom the war had 
just been renewed, instead of remaining in the hands 
of his enemy, had been ceded to the U. States, at 
that time professing the most friendly disposition to- 
wards G. Britain, and an intention of providing for 
her interest in the acquisition. But the conditions 
under which France had acquired Louisiana from 
Spain, were not communic.ded ; the refusal of Spain 
to consent to its alienation was not known ; the pro- 
test of her ambassador had not been made, and many 
other circumstances attending the transaction, on 
which it is now unnecessary to dilate, were, as there 
is good reason to believe, industriously concealed. 

The proof of a spirit of aggrandizement, which 
the undersigned had deduced from the hostile seiz- 
ure of a great part of the Floridas, under the most 
frivolous pretences, remains unrefuted; and the iin- 
dersigned are convinced that the occasion and cir- 
cumstances under which that unwarrantable act of 



APPENDIX. 407 

a^g'i'ession took place, have given rise throug-hout 
Europe to bat one sentiment as to the character oi the 
transaction. 

After the previous communication which the under- 
signed have had the honor of" receiving- from the 
American plenipotentiaries, they could not but feei 
much surprized at the information contained in their 
last note of their having- received instructions dated 
subsequently to January, 1814. The undersigned 
have no recollection whatever of the American ple- 
nipotentiaries having communicated to them, either 
collectively, or individually at a conference or other- 
wise, the receipt of instructions from the govern- 
ment of the U. Slates dated at the close of the month 
of June, and they must remind the American pleni- 
potentiaries that their note of the 9th ult. distinctly 
stated that the instructions of January, 1814, were 
those under which they were acting. If therefore, 
the American plenipotentiaries received instructions 
drawn up at the close of the month of June, with ii 
liberal consideration of the late events in Europe, the 
undersigned have a right to complain, that while the 
American government justly considered those events 
as having a necessary bearing on the existing dift'er- 
ences between the two countries, the American ple- 
nipotentiaries should nevertheless have preferred act- 
ing under instructions, which, from their date, must 
have been without the contemplation of such events. 

The British government never required that all that 
portion of the state of Massachusetts intervening be- 
tween the province of JNew Brunswick and Q,uel)ec» 
should be ceded to G. Britain, but only that small 
portion of unsettled country which interrupts the com- 
munication between Halifax and Quebec, there be- 
ing much doubt whether it does not already belong to 
6r. Britain. 

The undersigned are at a loss to understand how 
vice Admiral C-ochrane's proclamation illustrates any 
topic connected with the present negociation, or bears 
upon the conclusion which they contended was to be 
drawn from the two proc)am:itions of the Anifrican 



408 APPENDIX. 

Generals. Tliese proclamations distinctly avow- 
ing the intention of the American government per- 
manently to annex the Canadas to the U. States, were 
adduced not as a matter of complaint, but simply 
for the purpose of provmg what had been denied as a 
fact, viz. that such had been the declared intention 
of the American government. 

The undersigned observe, that although the Ameri- 
can plenipotentiaries have taken upon themselves 
generally to deny that tlie proclamations were au- 
thorized or approved by their govermuent, without 
stating in what mode that disapprobation was express- 
ed j yet they avoid statnig that the part of those proc- 
lamations containing the declaration in question, had. 
not been so authorized or ap|}roved. It is indeed 
impossible to imagine, that if the American govern- 
ment had intimated any disapprobation of that part of 
General Hull's proclamation, the snme declaration 
would have been as contidently repeated four months 
after by General Smyth. 

His majesty's government have other and ample 
means of knowing that the conquest of the Canadas 
and their annexatiori to the U. States was the object 
and policy of the American government. For the 
present the undersigned will content themselves with 
I'eferring to the remonstrance of the legislature of 
Massachusetts, in June, 181-3, in which this inten- 
tion is announced as matter of notoriety. 

The undersigned deny that the American govern- 
ment had proved, or can prove, that previous to the 
declaration of war by the U. States, persons author- 
ized by the British government endeavored to excite 
the Indian nations against the U. States, or that en- 
deavors of that kind, if made by private persons, 
(which the undersigned have no reason to believe) 
ever received the sanction of his majesty's govern- 
ment. 

The American plenipotentiaries have not denied 
that the Indian nations had been engaged in \\arwith 
the U. States, before the war with G. Britain had 
commenced, and Uiev liav«; reluctanllv confessed that 



APPENDIX. 409 

SO fai" iroiii his majesty having- iiuUiced the Indiaii 
nations to beg"in the war, as charged against Great- 
Britain in the notes of the 24th Aug. and 9th ult. the 
British government actually exerted their endeavors 
to dissuade the Indian nations from connnencing it. 

As to the unworthy motive assigned by the Ameri- 
can plenipotentiaries to this interference so amicably 
made on the part of G. Britain, its utter improbabdity 
is sufficiently apparent from considering by which 
party the war was declared. The undersigned, there- 
fore, can only consider it as an additional nidication 
of that hostile diposition which has led to the present 
unhappy war between the two countries. So long as 
that disposition continues, it cannot but render any 
effort on the part of G. Britain to termmale this con 
test utterly unavailing. 

The American plenipotentiaries appear unprepar- 
ed to state the precise ground upon which they resist, 
the right of his majesty to negociate with the United 
States on behalf of tlie Indian nations, whose co-ope- 
ration in the war his majesty has found it expedient 
to accept. 

The treaty of Greenville, to the words, stipula- 
tions, and spirit of which the undersigned have so 
frequently appealed, and all the treaties previously and 
subsequently made, between the U. States and the 
Indian nations, shew, beyond the possibility of doubt, 
that the U. States have been in the habit of treating- 
with these tribes as independent nations, capable of 
maintaining the relations of peace and war, and ex- 
ercising territorial rights. 

If this be so, it will be ditficult lo point out the pe- 
culiar circumstances in the condition of those nations, 
which should either exclude them from a treaty of 
general pacification, or prevent G. Britain, with 
whom they have, co-operated as allies in the war, 
from proposing stipulations in their behalf at the 
peace. Unless the American plenipotentiaries are 
prepared to maintain what they have in effect advanc- 
ed, that although the Indian nations mav be indepen- 
^2 



410 Ai»i»EXiJi-k. 

dent in their relations with the U. Hhiles, yet the cir - 
cumstance of living within the boundary of the ^- 
States disables them from forming- such conditions of 
alliance with a foreign power, as shall entitle that 
power to negociate for them in a treaty pf peace. 

The principle upon which this proposition is found- 
ed, was advanced, but successfully resisted so far 
back as the trer'y of Munster. An attempt wnsthen 
made to preclude France from nogociating in behalf 
of certain states and cities in Germany, who had co- 
operated with her in the war, because although those 
states and cities might be considered as independent 
for certain purposes, yet being within the boundary of 
the German empire, they ought not to be allowed to 
become parties in the general pacification with the 
emperor of Germany, nor ought France to be per- 
niitted in that negociation to mix their rights and in- 
terests with her own. 

The American plenipotentiaries, probably aware 
that the notion of such a qualified independence, for 
certain purposes, and not for othei*s, could not be 
maintained, either by argument or precedent, have 
been compelled to advance the novel and alarming 
pretension, that all the Indian nations living within 
the boundary of the United States, must in effect, be 
considered as their subjects, and, consequently, if 
engaged in war against the U. States, become liable 
lo be treated as rebels, or disaffected persons. They 
have further stated, that all the territory which tliese 
Indian nations occupy, is at the disposal of the United 
States, that the U. Stales have a right to dispossess 
them of it : to exercise that right, whenever their 
policy or interest may seem to them to requu'e it : and 
to confine them to such spots as may be selected, 
not l)y Indian nations, but by the American govern- 
ment. Pretensions such as these G. Britain can nev- 
er recognize : however reluctant his royal highness, 
the Prince Regent may be to continue the war, that 
evil must be prefered, if peace can only be obtained 
On such conditions. 



APrENDix. 4U 

To suj3port tliose pretensions, and at tlie same \\n\e 
to sitow, that the present conduct of Great-l^ritaiu i-s 
inconsistei.t with her former practice and principles, 
Ihe American plenipotentiaries have referred to the 
treaty of peace of 1783, to that of 17/^'3, and to the ne- 
g'ociations of" 17G1, during' the administration of a 
minister, whom the American plenipotentiaries have 
stated, and truly slated, to he high in the estimation 
ofhis country. 

The omissions to provide in the treaty of 1783, 
for the pacification of the Indian nations, which were 
to he included within the proposed boundary of the 
U. States, cannot preclude G. Britain from now uc- 
gociating' in behalf of such tribes or nations, unless it 
be assumed, that the occasional non-exercise of a 
rig-htis an abandonment of it. Nor can the right of 
protection, which the American plenipotentiaries have 
failed in showin": to have been ever claimed by Great 
Britain as incident to sovereig-ntv, have been transfer- 
red by G. Britain to the U. States, by a treaty, to 
which the Indian nations were not parties. 

In the peace of 17(33, it was not neccssiiry for G. 
Britain to treat for the pacification of the Indian na- 
tions, and the maintenance of their rights and privi- 
leges, because there had been nolndian nations livin<;^ 
without the British boundaries, who had co-operated 
with G. Britain, in the war against France. 

With respect to the negociations of 1/01, between 
G. Britain and France, on which the American pleni- 
potentiaries more particularly rely, they appear, in the 
judgmentof the undersigned, to have much misun-^ 
derstood the whole course of that negociation. 

It is very true that the Freiich government brought 
forward, at one period of the negociation, a proposi- 
tioii, by which a certain territory, lying between the 
dominions of the two contracting parties, was to have 
been allotted to the Indian nations. — But it does not 
appear that this formed a part oi their ultimatum, and 
it is clear, that Mr. Pitt in his answer, did not object 
to the proposition. He objected indeed to the propos- 
ed line of deniarkation between the countries belonqr. 



412 APPENDIX. 

ing; to the two contracting parties, upon the two 
grounds : 1st. that the proposed northern line would 
have given to France, what the French had them- 
selves acknowledged to be part of Canada, tlie whole 
of which, as enjoyed by his most Christian majesty, it 
had been stipulated, was to be ceded entirely to G. 
Britain : 2dly, that the southern part of the proposed 
line of demarkation would have included within the 
boundary of Louisiana, the Cherokees, the Creeks, the 
Chickasaws, the Choctaws, and another nation, who 
occupied territories which had never been included 
within the boundaries of that settlement. So far was 
Mr. Pitt from rejecting, as alledged by the American 
plenipotentiaries, the proposition of considering In- 
dian nations a barrier,]^ that at one period of the ne- 
gociation he complained that there was no provision 
for such a barrier ; and he thus energetically urge.s 
his objections, in his letter to Mr. Stanley, the British 
plenipotentiary at Paris, dated on the 2t)th of June, 
17G1 'j * As to the fixation of new limits to Canada 
towards the Ohio, it is captious and insidious, thrown 
out in hope, if agreed to, to shorten thereby the ex- 
tent of Canada, and to lengthen the boundaries of 
Louisiana, and in the view to establish, what must 
not be admitted, namely, that all which is not Canada 
is Louisiana ; whereby all the intermediate nations 
and countries, the true barrier to each province, would 
be given up to France.' 

The undersigned confidently expect, that the 
American plenipotentiaries wUl not again reproach 
the British government with acting inconsistently 
with its former practice and principles, or repeat the 
assertion made in a former note, that a definition of 
Indian boundary, with a view to a neutral barrier, 
was a new and unprecedented demand by any Euro- 
pean power, and most of all by G. Britain; the very 
instance selected by the American plenipotentiaries, 
undeniably proves that such a proposition had been 
entertained both by G. Britain and France, and that 
Mr. Pitt on the part of G. Britain had more particu- 
larly enforced it. 



APPENDIX. 413 

It remains only to notice two objections which the 
American plenipotentiaries have urged against the 
proposal of Indian pacification, advanced by the mi- 
dersigned ; first, tliat it is not reciprocal : secondly, 
that as the United States could have no security that 
the Indian nations would conclude a peace on the 
terms proposed, the proposition would be in effect 
unilateral. 

The article now proposed by the undersigned, and 
herewith enclosed, is tree from both objections, and 
ap[)ears to them so characterised by a spirit of mod- 
eration and peace, that they earnestly anticipate tho 
concurrence of the American plenipotentiaries. 

In makuii; a last effort in tins sta^e of the war, the 
undersigned are not apprehensive that the motives 
which have influenced his royal highness, the Prince 
Regent to direct a renewal of the proposition, with its 
present modifications, can be misunderstood or mis- 
represented. 

Whatever may be the resnlt of the proposition thus 
offered, the undersigned deliver it as their ultimatum, 
and now await with anxiety the answer of the Amer- 
ican plenipotentiaries, on which their continuance in 
this place will depend. 

The undersigned avail themselves of this oppor- 
tunity of renewing to the American plenipotentiaries, 
the assurance of their high consideration. 

GAMBIER, 

HENHY GOULBUilN, 
WILLIAM ADAMS. 

'* The U. States of x\merica engage to put an end, 
immediately after the ratification ofthepresent treaty, 
to hostilities, with all the tribes or nations of Indians 
with whom they may be at war, at the time of such 
ratification, and forthwith to restore to such tribes or 
nations, respectively, all the possessions, rights and 
privileges, which they may have enjoyed or been en- 
titled to in 1811, previous to such hostilities : provid- 
ed always, that such tribes or nations shall agree to 
desist from all hostilities against the United States of 



414 APPENDIX 

America, their citizens and subjects, upon the ratifi- 
cation of the present treaty being notified to such 
tribes or nations, and shall so desist accordingly. 

" And his Britannic majesty engages, on his part, 
to put an end, immediately after the ratilication of the 
present treaty, to hostilities, with all the tribes or na- 
tions of Indians with whom he may be at war, at the 
time of such ratification, and forthwith to restore to 
such tribes or nations respectively, all the possessions, 
rights and privileges, which they may have enjoyed 
or been entitled to in 1811, previous to such hostdi- 
ties: provided always, that such tribes or nations 
shall agree to desist from all hostilities against his 
Britannic majesty and his subjects, upon the ratifica- 
tion of the present treaty being notified to such tribes 
or nations, and shall so desist accordingly." 

From the American to the British Commissioners. 
Ghent, October 13, 1814. 

The undersigned have the honor to acknowledge 
the receipt of the note of the plenipotentiaries of his 
Britannic majesty, dated on the 8th instant. 

Satisfied of the impossibility of persuading the 
world that the government of the U. States was liable 
to any well founded imputation of a spirit of con- 
quest or of injustice towards other nations, the under- 
signed, in affording explanations on several of the 
topics adverted to by the British plenipotentiaries dur- 
ing this negociation, were actuated by the sole mo- 
tive of removing erroneous impressions. 

Still influenced by the same motive, they will now 
add, that at the time when ihe Spanish minister was 
remonstrating at Washington against the transfer of 
Louisiana, orders were given by his government for 
its delivery to France : that it was, in fact, delivered 
a short time after that remonstrance j and that if the 
treaty by which the U. Stales acquired it had not been 
ratified, would have become, of course, a French col- 
ony. The undersigned believe that the evidence of 
the assent of Spain to that transfer has been promuU 
gated. They neither admit the alledged disability oi 



APPENDIX. 415 

the SpJinish monarch, nor the inference which the 
British pleoipotentiaries would seem to deduce from 
it ; on the contrary, the assent was voluntarily ^iven 
in the year 1804, by the same king- who, about the 
same time, ceded Trinidad to G. Britain, and prior 
to the time when he was a^ain eng^aged in war with 
her. The cession by France was immediately com- 
municated to G. Britain, no circumstance aft'ecting it, 
and then within the knowledge of the U. States, be- 
ing" intentionally concealed from her. She express- 
ed her satisfaction with it; and if in any possible 
state of the case she would have had a right to ques- 
tion the transaction, it does not appear to the under- 
signed that she is now authorised to do so. 

After stating, generally, that the proclamations of 
Generals Hull and Smyth were neither authorised nor 
approved by their government, the undersigned could 
not have expected that the British plenipotentiaries 
would suppose that their statement did not embrace 
the only part of the proclamations which was a sub- 
ject of consideration. 

The undersigned had, indeed, hoped, that, by 
stating in their note of the 9lh ultimo, that the g'ov- 
ernment of the U. States, from the commencement 
of the war, had been disposed to make peace without 
obtaininj^ any cession of territory, and by referring- 
to their knowledge of that disposition, and to instruc- 
tions accordingly given from July, 1812, to January, 
1811, they would effectually remove tise impression 
that the annexation of Canada to the U . States was 
the declared object of their government. Not only 
have the undersigned been disappointed in this ex- 
pectation, but the only inference which the British 
plenipotentiaries have thought proper to draw from 
this explicit statement, has been, that either the 
American g'overnment, by not giving instructions 
subsequent to the pacification of Enroi-e, or the un- 
dersigned, by not acting under such instructions, gave 
no j)roof of a sincere desire to bring the present ne- 
gociations to a favorable conclusion. The nndersign- 
ejd did not allude, in reference to the ailedo'ed inten- 



41 G APPENDIX. 

tion to annex Canada to the U. States, to any instruc- 
tions given by their government subsequently to Jan- 
uary last, because, asking at this tune for an accession 
of territory, it was only of its previous disposition that 
it appeared necessary to produce any proof. So er- 
roneous was the uiference drawn by the British ple- 
nipotentiaries, in both respects, that it was in virtue of 
the instructions of June last, that the undei'signed 
were enabled, in their note of the 24th of August, to 
state, that the causes of the war between tlie U. States 
and G. Britani, having disappeared, by the maritime 
pacification of Europe, they had been authorised to 
agree to its termination upon a mutual restoration of 
territory, and without making the conclusion of peace 
to depend on a successful arrangement of those points 
on which differences had existed. 

Considering the present state of the negociation, 
the undersigned will abstain, at this time from addu- 
cing any evidence or remarks upon the influence 
which has been exerted over the Indian h-ibes inhab- 
iting the territories of the U. States, and the nature of 
those excitements which had been employed by Bri- 
tish traders and agents. 

The arguments and facts already brought forward 
by the undersigned, respecting the political condition 
of those tribes, render it unnecessary for them to make 
many observations on those of the British plenipoten- 
tiaries on that subject. The treaties of 17(53, and 
1783, were those principally alluded to by the un- 
dersigned, to illustrate the practice of G. Britain. 
She did not admit in the first, nor require in the last, 
any stipulations respecting the Indians who, in one 
case, had been her enemies, and in the other, her al- 
lies, and who, in both instances, fell by the peace with- 
in the dominions of that power against whom they had 
been engaged in the preceding war. 

The negociation of 17(51 was quoted for the pur- 
pose of proving, what appears to be fully established 
by the answer of England to the ultimatum of France 
delivered on the first of Sej)tember of that year, that 
his Britannic majesty would not renounce his right of 



APPENDIX. 417 

protection over the Indian nations reputed to be with- 
in his dominions, that is to say, between the British 
settlements and the Mississippi. Mr. Pitt's letter, 
cited by tlie British plenipotentiaries, far from contra- 
dicting" that position, ^oes still further. It states that 
*the fixation of the new limits to Canada, as propos- 
ed by FrancCy is intended to shorten the extent of 
Canada, which was to be ceded to England, and to 
lengthen the boundaries of Louisiana, which France 
was to keep, and in the view to establisli what must 
not be admitted, namely, that all wliich is not Canada 
is Louisiana, whereby all the intermediate nations 
and countries, the true barrier to each province, would 
be given up to France.' This is precisely the princi- 
ple uniformly supported by the undersigned, to wit, 
that the recognition of a boundary gives up to the 
nation, in whose behalf it is made, all the Indian 
tribes and countries within that boundary. It was on 
this principle that the undersigned have contidently 
relied on the treaty of 1783, what fixes and recogniz- 
es the boundary of the U. States, without making any 
reservation respecting Indian tribes. 

But the British plenipotentiaries, unable to produce 
a solitary precedent of one European power treating 
for the savag-es inhabiting- within the dominions of 
another, have been compelled, in support of their 
principle, to refer to the German empire, a body con- 
sisting of several independent states, recognized as 
such by the whole world, and separately mamtaining 
with foreign powers the relations belonging to such 
a condition. Can it be necessary to prove that there 
is no sort of analogy between the political situation of 
these civilized communitities, and that of the wan- 
dering tribes of North American savages? 

In referring to what the British plenipotentiaries 
represent as alarming and novel pretensions, what 
G. Britain can never recognize, the undersigned 
might complain that these alledged pretensions have 
not been stated, either in terms or in substance, as ex- 
pressed by themselves. This, however, is the less 
53 



418 APPENDIX. 

material, as any further recognition oftliemby G 
Britain is not necessary nor required. On the other 
hand, they can never admit nor recognize the princi- 
ples or pretensions asserted in the course of this cor- 
respondence by the British plenipotentiaries, and 
which, to them, appear novel and alarming. 

The article proposed by the British plenipotentia- 
ries, in their last note, not including the Indian tribes 
as parties in the peace, and leaving tlie U. States free 
to effect its object in the mode consonant with the re- 
lations which they have constantly maintained with 
those tribes, partaking also of the nature of an amnesty, 
and being at the same time reciprocal, is not liable 
to that objection ; and accords with the views uni* 
formly professed by the undersigned, of placing 
these tribes precisely, and in every respect, in the 
same situation as that in which they stood before the 
commencement of hostilities. This article, thus pro- 
posing only what the undersigned have so often as- 
sured the British plenipotentiaries would necessarily 
follow, if indeed it has not already, as is highly ])rob- 
able, preceded a peace between G. Britain and the 
United States. The undersigned agree to admit it, 
in substance, as a provisional article, subject, in the 
manner originally proposed by the British govern- 
ment, to the approbation or rejection of the govern- 
ment of the U. States, which, having given no in- 
structions to the undersigned on this point, cannot be 
bound by any article they may admit on the subject. 

It will, of course, be understood, that if, unhappily 
peace should not be the result of the present negocia- 
tion, the article thus conditionally agreed to shall be 
of no effect, and shall not, in any future negociation, 
be brought forward by either party, by way of argu- 
ment or precedent. 

This article having been presented as an indispen- 
sible preliminary, and being now accepted, the un- 
dersigned request the British plenipotentiaries to com- 
municate to them the project of a treaty embracing 
all the points deemed material by G. Britain ; the un- 
dersigned engaging on their part to deliver immedi 



APPENDIX. 419 

alely after, a counter ])roject with respeol to all the 
articles to which they may not agree, and on the sub- 
jects deemed material l)y the U. States, and, which 
may be omitted in the British ])roject. 



J. a ADzVMS, 
J. A. BAYARD, 
H. CLAY, 



JONA. RUSSELL, 
A. GALLATIN. 



The British to the American Commissioners. 
Ghent, October 21, 1814. 

The undersigned have had the honor of receiving 
the note of the American plenipotentiaries of the 13th 
inst. communicating their acceptance of the article 
which the undersigned had proposed on the subject 
of the pacification and rights of the Indian nations. 

The undersigned are happy in being thus relieved 
from the necessity of recurring to several topics, 
which though they arose in the course of their discus- 
sions, have only an incidental connection with the 
difference remaining to be adjusted between the two 
countries. 

With a view to this adjustment the undersigned 
prefering in the present state of the negociation a 
general statement of the formal arrangement of arti- 
cles, are willing so far to comply with the request of the 
American plenipotentiaries contaiuedin then* last note, 
as to wave the advantages to which they think they 
were fairly entitled, of requiring from them the first 
project of a treaty. 

The undersigned having stated at the first confer- 
ence the points upon which his majesty's government 
considered the discussions between the two countries 
as likely to turn, cannot better satisfy the request of 
the American plenipotentiaries than by referring 
them to that conference for a statement of the points 
which, in the opinion of his majesty's government yet 
remains to be adjusted. 

With respect to the forcible seizure of mariners 
from on board merchant vessels on the high seas, and 
the right of the king of G. Britain to the allegiance of 
all his subjects, and with respect to the maritime 



420 APPENDIX. 

rights of the British empire the undersigned conceive, 
that after the pretentions asserted by the govenunent 
of the U. States, a more satisfactory proof of the 
concihatory spirit of his Majesty's government cannot 
be given than not requiring any stipulation on those 
subjects, which though most important in themselves, 
no longer in consequence of the maritime pacifica- 
tioD of Europe, produce the same practical results. 

On the subject of the fisheries the undersigned ex- 
pressed with so much frankness at the conference al- 
ready refered to, the views of their government, that 
they consider any further observations on that topic 
as unnecessary at tlie present time. 

On the question of the boundary between the do- 
minions of his majesty and those of the U. States, 
the undersigned are led to expect from the discus- 
sion which this subject has already undergone, that 
the north west boundary from the lake of the Woods 
to the Mississippi, the intended arrangement of 1803, 
-will be admitted without objection. 

In regard to other boundaries the American pleni- 
potentiiuies in their note of August 24th, appeared in 
some measure to object to the propositions then made 
by the undersigned as the basis of uti possidetis. 
The undersigned are willing to treat on that basis, 
subjectto such modifications as mutual convenience 
may be found to require, and they trust that the 
American plenipotentiaries will shew by their ready 
acceptance of this basis, that they duly appreciate the 
moderation of his majesty's government in so far con- 
sulting the honor and fair pretensions of the U. States 
as in the relative situation of the two countries, to 
authorise such a proposition. 

The undersigned avail themselves of this opportu- 
nity to renew to the American plenipotentiaries, the 
assurance of their high considertion. 

GAMBIEK, 

HENRY GOULBURN. 
WILLIAM ADAIMS. 



APPENDIX. 421 

The American to the British Commissioners. 
Ghent, October 24, 1814. 

The undersigned have the honor to acknowledge 
the receipt of the note of the British plenipotentiaries 
of the 21st inst. 

Amonsfst the g-eneral observations which the nn- 
dersigned, in their note of the 24th Aug. made on the 
propositions then brought forward on the part of the 
British government, they remarked thatthose proposi- 
tions were founded neitlier on the basis of uti posside- 
tis, nor on that oi' status ante bellvm. But so far were 
they from suggestmg the uti possidetis as the basis on 
which they were disposed to treat, that in the same note 
they expressly stated that they had been instructed to 
conclude a peace on the principles of both parties re- 
storing whatever territory they might have taken. 
The undersigned also declared in that note, that they 
had no authority to cede any part of the territory of 
the U. Siates, and that to no stipulation to that effect 
would they subscribe ; and in the note of the 9th Sept. 
after having shewn that the basis of uti possidetis,such 
as was known to exist at the commencement of the 
negociation, gave no clami to his Britannic majesty 
to cession of territory founded upon the right of con- 
quest, they added that even if the chances of war 
should give to the British arms a momentary posses- 
sion of other parts of the territory of the U. States, 
such events would not alter their views with reijard 
to the terms of peace to which they would give their 
consent. 

The undersigned can now only repeat those de- 
clarations and dechne treating upon the basis of uti 
possidetis, or upon any other principle involving a 
cession of any part of the territory of the U. States. 
As they have uniformly stated, they can treat only 
upon the principle of mutual restoration of whatever 
territory may have been taken by either party. From 
this principle they cannot recede, and the undersign- 
ed after the repeated declarations of the British Ple- 
nipotentiaries, that G. Britain had no view to acqui- 
aition of territory, in this negociation, deem it neces- 



422 APPENDIX. 

sary to add, that the utility of its continuance depends 
on their adherence to this principle. 

The undersigned having declared in their note of 
the 21st of Aug. that although instructed and prepar- 
ed to enter into an amicable discussion of all the 
points, on which differences or uncertainty had ex- 
isted, and which might hereafter tend to interrupt 
the harmony of the two countries, they would not 
make the conclusion of the peace at all depend upon 
a sucessful result of the discussion, and having since 
agreed to the preliminary article proposed by the 
British government, had believed that the negocia- 
lion already so long protracted, could not be brought 
to an early conclusion, otherwise than by the commu- 
nication of a project embracing all the other specific 
propositions which G. Britain intended to offer. 
They repeat their request in that respect and will 
have no objection to a simultaneous exchange of the 
projects of both parties. This course will bring fair- 
ly into discussion the other topics embraced in the 
last note of the British plenipotentiaries, to which the 
undersigned have thought it necessary to advert at the 
present time. 

The undersigned renew to the British plenipoten- 
tiaries the assurance of their high consideration. 



J. a ADAiMS, 
.1. A. BAYARD, 
H. CLAY, 



JONATHAN RUSSELL, 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 



The British to the American Comr/iissioners 
Ghent, Oct. 31st, 1814. 

The undersigned have the honor to acknowledge 
the receipt of the note addressed to them by the Amer- 
ican plenipotentiaries on the 24th inst. in which they 
object to the basis of uti possidetis proposed by the un- 
dersigned as that on which they are willing to treat in 
regard to part of the boundaries between the do- 
minions of his Majesty and those of the U. States. 

The American plenipotentiaries in their note of the 
ISlhinst. requested the undersigned to communicate 
to them the project of a treaty embracing all the 



APPENDIX. 423 

points insisted on by G.Britain, engaging on their 
part to deliver immediately after a contra project as to 
all the articles to which they might not agree, and as 
to all the subjects deemed material by tlie U. States, 
and omitted in the project of the undersigned. 

The undersigned were accordingly instructed to 
wave the question of etiquette and the advantage 
■which might result from receiving the first commu- 
nication, and, confiding in the engagement of the 
American plenipotentiaries, communicated in their 
note of the 21st lust, all the points upon which they 
are instructed to insist. 

The American plenipotentiaricshave objected to one 
esseutialpart of the project thus communicated: but 
before the undersigned can enter into the discussion on 
Uiis objection, they must require from the American 
plenipotentiaries that, pursuant to their engagement, 
they will deliver a contre project containing all their 
objections to the points submitted by the undersigned 
together with a statement of such further points as 
the government of the U. States consider to be ma- 
terial. 

The undersigned are authorized to stale distinctly, 
that the article as to the pacification and rights of the In- 
dian nations having been accepted, they have brought 
forward in their note of Ihe 21st inst. all the proposi- 
tions they liave to offer. They have no farther de- 
mands to make, no other stipulations on which the v 
are instructed to insist, and they are empowered to 
sign a treaty of peace forthwith in conformity witli 
those stated in their former note. 

The undersigned trust therefore that the American 
plenipotentiaries will no longer hesitate to bring for- 
ward in the form of articles or otlierwise, as they may 
prefer, those specific propositions upon which the}' 
are empowered to sign a treaty of peace between the 
two countries. 

GAMBTER, 

HENRY GOULBURN, 

W. ADAMS. 



424 APPENDIX. 

TREATY OF PEACE. 
JAMES MADISON, 

PRESIDENT OK THE UiNITtD STATES OF AMERICA. 

To all and singular to whom these jnesents shall come. 
Greeting : 
WHEREAS a treaty of peace and amity between 

the United States of America, and his Britarmic ma- 
jesty was signed at Ghent, on the twenty-fourth day 
of December, one thousand eight hundred and four- 
teen, by the plenipotentiaries respectively appointed 
for that purpose ; and the said treaty having been, by 
and with the advice and consent of the senate of the 
United Stales, duly accepted, ratified, and confirmed, 
on the seventeenth day of February, one thousand 
eight hundred and fifteen ; and ratified copies thereof 
having been exchanged agreeably to the tenor of the 
said treaty, which is in the words following, to wit : 

Treaty of peace and amity between his Britannic 

31ajesty and the United States of America. 
His Britannic majesty and the United States of 
America, desirous of terminating the war which has 
unhappily subsisted between the two countries, and 
of restoring, upon principles of perfect reciprocity, 
peace, friendship, and good understanding between 
them, have, for that purpose, appointed their respec- 
tive plenipotentiaries, that is to say : his Britannic 
majesty, on his part, has appointed the right honorable 
James lord Gambier^ late Admiral of the white, now 
Admiral of the red scpiadron of his majesty's fleet, 
Henry Goullmrn, Esquire, a member of the nii[)erial 
parliament and under secretary of state, and William 
Adams, Esquire, doctor of civil laws : — and the Pre- 
sident of the United States, by and with the advice 
and consent of the senate thereof, has appointed John 
Quincy AdamSy James A. Bayardj Henry Clayy 
Jonathan Rnssell, and Albert Gallatiny citizens of 
the United States, who, after a reciprocal communi- 
cation of their respective full powers, have agreed up- 
on the followino: articles : 



APPENDIX. 425 

ARTICLE THE FIRST. 

There shall be a firm and universal peace between 
his Britannic majesty and the United States, and be- 
tween their respective countries, territories, cities, 
towns, and people, of every degree, without exception 
of places or persons. All hostilities, both by sea and 
land, shall cease as soon as this treaty shall havet)een 
ratified by both parties, as hereinafter mentioned. 
All territory, places and possessions whatsoever, taken 
from either party by the other, during- the war, or 
which may be taken after the signing of this treaty, 
excepting only the islands hereinafter mentioned, shall 
be restored without delay, and without causing any 
destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery or 
other public property originally caplnred in the said 
forts or places, and which shall remain therein upon 
the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any 
slaves or other private propei'ty. And all archives, 
records, deeds, and papers, either of a public nature, 
or belonging to private persons, which, in the course 
of the war, may have fallen into the hands of the offi- 
cers of either parly, shall be, as far as may be prac- 
ticable, forthwith restored and delivered to the prop- 
er authorities and persons to whom they respectively 
belong. Such of the islands in the bayofPus- 
samaquaddy as are claimed by both parties, shall 
remain in the possession of the party in whose occu- 
pation they may be at the time of the exchange of 
the ratifications of this treaty, until the decision res- 
pecting the title to the said islands shall have been 
made m conformity with the fourth article of this 
treaty. No disposition made by this treaty, as to 
such possession of the islands and territories claimed 
by both parties, shall, in any manner whatever, be 
construed to aftect the right of either. 

AUTICLE THE SECOND. 

Immediately alter the ratifications of this treaty by 

both parties, as hereinafter mentioned, orders shaH 

be sent to the armies, squadrons, officers, subjects 

and citizens, of the two powers to ceasp. from all hos- 

54 



42t> appendix:* 

tilities : and to prevent all ciuses of complaiul whiclb 
might arise on account of the prizes which may be 
taken at sea after the said ratifications of this treaty, 
it IS reciprocally agreed, that all vessels and effects 
winch nipy betaken after the space ot" twelve days 
from the s.»id ratifications, u|)Oh ail parts of the coast 
of North A'.nerica, from the latitude of twenty-three 
degrees noith, to the latitude of fifty degrees north, 
and as far eastward in the Atlantic ocean, as the 
thirty-sixth degree of west longitude from the meridi- 
an of Greenwich, shall be restored to each side. 
That the time shall be thirty davs m all other parts 
of the Atlantic ocean, north of the equinoctial line or 
equator, and the same time for the British and Irish 
channels. lor the Gulf of Mexico and all parts of the 
West-Indies ; forty days for the North seas, for the 
Baltic, and for all parts of the Mediterranean ; sixty 
days for the Atlaiitic ocean sou h of the equator as 
far as the latitude of the Ca|>e of Good Hope; ninety 
days for every part of the world south of the equator ; 
and one hundred and twenty days for all other parts^ 
of the world, without exception. 

ARTICLE THE THII'D. 

All prisoners of war taken on either side, as well 
by land as by sea, shall be restored as soon as prac- 
ticable after the ratification or this treaty, as herein- 
after mentioned, on their paying the debts which they 
may have contracted during their captivity. The 
two contracting parties respectively engage to dis- 
charge in specie, the advances whi^h may have been 
made by the other for the sustenance and mainten- 
ance of such prisoners. 

ARTICLE THE FOURTH. 

Whereas it was stipulated by the second article in 
the treaty of peace, of one thousand seven hundred 
and eighty-three, between his Britannic majesty and 
the Unite<! States of America, that the boundary of 
the United States should comprehend all islands 
within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the 
United States, and lying between lines to be drawn 
due east from the points where the aforesaid bounda* 



APPENDIX. 427 

nes, between Nova Scotia, on the one part, and East 
Florida on tlie other, shall respectively touch the Bay 
of Funday, and the Atlantic ocean, excepting such 
islands as now are, or heretofore have been, within 
the limits of Nova Scotia; and whereas the several 
islands in the Bay of Passamaqnoddy, which is part 
of the Bay of Fundy, and the island of Grand Menan 
in the said Bay of Fundy, are claimed by the United 
States as being comprehended within their aforesaid 
boundaries, which said islands are clanued as belong- 
ing to his Britannic majesty, as having been at the 
time of, and previous to, the aforesaid treaty of one 
thousand seven hundred and eighty-three within the 
limits of the province of Nova Scotia : in order, there- 
fore, finally to decide upon these claims, it is agreed 
that they shall be referred to two commissioners, to 
be appointed in the following manner, viz. one com- 
missioner shall be appointed by his Britannic majes- 
ty, and one by the President of the Uiwted States, by 
and with the advice and consent of the senate thereof, 
and the said two commissioners so appointed shall 
be sworn impartially to examine and decide upon the 
said claims according to such evidence as shall be 
laid before them on the part ot his Britannic majesty 
and of the United States respectively. The said 
commissioners shall meet at St. Andrews, in the pro- 
vince of New Brunswick, and shall have power to ad- 
journ to such other place or places as they shall think 
fit. The said commissioners shall, by a declaration 
or report under their hands and seals, decide to which 
of the two contracting parties the several islands afore- 
said do respectively belong, in conformity with the true 
intent of the said treaty of peace of one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-three. And if the said commis- 
sioners shall agree in their decision, both parties 
shall consider such decision as final and conclusive. 
It is further agreed, that in the event of the two com- 
missioners dift'ering upon all or any of the matters 
so referred to them, or in the event of both or either 
of the said commissioners refusing or declining, or 
wilfully omitting to act as such, they shall make. 



428 APPENDIX. 

jointlyor separately, a report or reports, as well ta 
the g-overmtient of his Britannic majesty as to that of 
the United States, stating in detail the points on 
which they differ, and the grounds upon which their 
respective opinions have been iornied, or the grounds 
upon which they, or either of them, have so refused, 
declined, or omitted to act. And his Britannic ma- 
jesty, and the government of the United States here- 
by agree to refer the report or reports of the said com- 
missioners, to some friendly sovereign or state, to be 
then named for that purpose, and who shall be re- 
quested to decide on the differences which may be 
stated in the said report or reports, or upon the report 
of one commissioner, together with the grounds upon 
which the other commissioner shall have refused, de- 
clined, or omitted to act as the case may be. 
And if the commissioners so refusing, declining, 
or omitting to act, shall also wilfully omit to 
state the grounds upon which he has so done, in such 
manner that the said statement may be referred to 
such friendly sovereign or slate, together with the re- 
port of such other commissioner, then such sovereign 
or state shall decide ex parte upon the said report 
alone. And his Britannic majesty and the govern- 
ment of the United States enoaoreto consider the de- 
cision of some friendly sovereign or state to be such 
and conclusive on all the matters so referred. 

ARTICLE THE FIFTH 

Whereas neither that point of the highlands lying 
due north from the source of the river St. Croix, and 
designated in the former treaty of peace between the 
two powers as the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, 
now the north-westernmost head of Connecticut riv- 
er has not been ascertained ; and whereas that part 
of the boundary line between the dominion of the 
two powers which extends from the source of the 
river St. Croix directly north to the abovementioned 
north-west angle of Nova Scotia, thence along the 
said highlands which divide those rivers that empty 
themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those 
which fall into the Atlantic ocean to the norlh-west« 



APPENDIX. 429 

ernmost bead of Connecticut river, thence down 
along the middle of the river to the farty-fifth degree 
of north latitude ; thence by a line due west on said 
latitude until it strikes the river Iroquois or Catarag- 
ny, has not yet been surveyed : — It is agreed that for 
those several purposes two commissioners shall be ap- 
pointed, sworn and authorised, to act exactly in the 
manner directed with respect to those mentioned in 
the next preceding article, unless otherwise specified 
in the present article. Tiic said conjuiissioners shall 
meet at St. Andrews, in the province of New Bruns- 
wick, and shall have power to adjourn to such other 
place or places as they shall think lit. The said com- 
missioners shall have power to ascertain and deter- 
mine the points abovementioned, in conformity with 
the provisions of the said treaty of peace of one thou- 
sand seven hundred and eighty-three, and shall cause 
the boundary aforesaid, from the source of the river 
St. Croix to the river Iroquois or Cataragny, to be 
surveyed and marked according to the said provisions. 
The said commissioners shall make a map of the said 
boundary, and annex to it a declaration under their 
hands and seals, certifying it to be the true map of 
the said boundary, and particularizing the latitude 
and longitude of the north-west angle of Nova Sco- 
tia, of the north-westernmost head of Connecticut 
river, and of such other points of the same boundary 
as they may deem proper. And both parties agree 
to consider such map and declaration as finally and 
conclusively fixing the said boundary. And in the 
event of the said two commissioners differing, or both, 
or either of them, refusing or declining, oc wilfully 
omitting to act, such reports, declarations, or state- 
ments, shall be made by them, or either of them, and 
such reference to a friendly sovereign or state, shall 
be made, in all respects as in the latter part of the 
fourth article is contained, and in as full a maiuier as 
if the same was herein repeated. 

ARTICLE THE SIXTH. 

Whereas, by the former treaty of peace that por- 
tion of the boundary of the United Stales from the 



430 APPENDIX. 

point where the forty fifth degree of north latitude 
strikes the river Iroquois or Cataragny to the lake 
Suj'erior, was declared to be ' along the middle of 
said river into lake Ontario, through the middle of 
said lake until it strikes the covnmunicatioii by water 
between that lake and lake Erie, thei.ce along the 
middle of said communication into lake Erie, through 
the middle ot said lake until it arrives at the water 
communication into the lake Huron, thence through 
the middle of said lake to the water communication 
between that lake and lake Superior'. And whereas 
doubts have arisen what was the middle of said river, 
lakes, and water communications, and whether cer- 
tain islands lying in the same were within the domin- 
ions of his Britannic majesty or ot the United States : 
in order, therefore, finally to decide these doubts, they 
shall be referred to two commissioners, to be appoint- 
ed, sworn, and authorised to act exactly in the man- 
ner directed with respect to those mentioned in the 
next preceding article, unless otherwise specified in 
this present article. The said commissiowers shall 
meet, in the first instance, at Albany, in the state of 
New-York, and shall have power to adjourn to such 
other place or places as they shall think fit. The 
said commissioners shall by a report or declaration, 
under their hands and seals, designate the boundary 
through the said river, lakes, and water communica- 
tions, and decide to which of the two contracting par- 
lies the several islands lying within the said river, 
lakes, and water communications, do respectively 
belong, in conformity with the true intent of the said 
treaty of one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
three. And both parties agree to consider such de- 
signation and decision as tinal and conclusive. And 
in the event of the said two commissioners differing, 
or both, or either of them, refusing, declining, or wil- 
fully omitting to act, such reports, declarations or 
statements, shall be made by them, or either of them, 
and such reference to a friendly sovereign or state 
shall be made in all respects as in the latter part of 
the fourth article is contained, and in as full a manner 
as if the same was herein repeated. 



APPENDIX. 431 

ARTICLE THE SEVENTH. 

It is further agreed that the said two last mention- 
ed commissioners, after they shall have executed the 
duties assigned to them in the preceding article, shall 
be, and they are hereby authorised, upon their oaths 
impartially to fix and determine, according to the 
true intent of the said treaty of peace, of one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-three, that part of the boun- 
dary between the dominions of the two powers, which 
extends from the water comnmnication between lake 
Huron and lake Superior, to the most north-western 
point of the lake of the Woods, to decide to which of 
the two parties the several islands lying in the lakes, 
water communications, and rivers, forming the said 
boimdary, do respectively belong, in conformity with 
the true intent of the said treaty of peace, ol one 
thousand seven hundred and eighty-three ; and to 
cause such parts of the said boundary, as require it, 
to be surveyed and marked. The said commission- 
ers shall, by a report or declaration under then* hands 
and seals, designate the boundary aforesaid, state 
their decision on the points thus referred to them, and 
particularise the latitude and longitude of the most 
north-western point of the lake of the Woods, and of 
such other parts of the said boundary as they may 
deem proper. And both parties agree to consider 
such designation and decision as final and conclusive. 
And in the event of the said two commissioners dif- 
fering, or both, or either ofthem refusing, declining, 
or wilfully omitting to act, such reports, declarations, 
or statements, shall be made by them, or either of 
them, and such reference to a Iriendly sovereign or 
state, shall be made in all respects, as in the latter 
part of the fourth article is contained, and in as full 
a manner as if the same was herein repeated. 

ARTICLE THE EIGHTH. 

The several boards of two commissioners mention- 
ed in the four preceedmg articles, shall respectively 
have power to appoint a secretary, and to employ such 
sur\eyors or other persons as they shall judge neces- 
sary. Duplicates of all their respective reports, de- 



•i32 APPENDIX. 

clarations, statements, and descisions, and of their ac- 
counts, and of the journal of their proceedings, shall be 
delivered bytheni to the accents of his Britannicmajesty, 
and lo the agents of the IT. Stales who may be respect- 
ively appointed and authorised to manage the business 
on behalf of their respective governments. The said 
commissioners shall be respectively paid in such man- 
ner as shall be aareed between the two contractins: 
parties, such agreement being to be settled at the time 
of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty. — And 
all other expences attending the said commissioners 
shall be defrayed equally by the two parlies. And in 
the case of death, sickness, resignation, or necessary 
absence, the place of every such commissioner re- 
spectively shall be supplied in the same manner as such 
commissioner was first appointed, and the new com- 
missioner shall take the same oath or affirmation, and 
do the same duties. It is further agreed between the 
two contracting parties, that in case any of the Islands 
mentioned in any of the preceding articles, which were 
in the possession of one of the parties prior to the com- 
mencement of the present war between the two coun- 
tries, should by the decision of any of the boards of com- 
missioners aforesaid, or of the sovereign or state so re- 
ferred to as in the four next preceding articles con- 
tained, fall within the dominions of the other party, 
all grants of land made previous to the commence- 
ment of the war by the party having had such posses- 
sion, shall be as valid as if such Island or Islands, 
had by such decision or decisions, been adjudged to 
be within the dominions of the party having had 
such possession. 

ARTICLE THE NINTH. 

The U. Stales of A merica engage to put an end 
immediately after the ratification of the present treaty 
to hostilities with all the tribes or nations of Indians, 
with whom they may be at war at the time of such 
ratification ; and forthwith to restore to such tribes or 
nations, respectively, all the possessions, rights and 
privileges, which they may have enjoyed or been en- 
titled to in one thousand eight hundred and eleven. 



APPENDIX. 433 

previous lo such hostilities : Provided always, that 
such tribes or nations shall ag^ree to desist from ail 
hostilities, against the United States of America, their 
citizens and subjects, upon the ratification of tlie pre- 
sent treaty being notified to such tribes or nations, and 
shall so desist accordingly. And his Britannic Ma- 
jesty engages, on his part to put an end immediately 
after the ratification of the present treaty, to hostili- 
ties with all the tribes or nations of Indians vviUi 
whom he may be at war at the time of such ratifica- 
tion, and forthwith to restore to such tribes or nations, 
respectively, all the possessions, rights and privileges, 
which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to, in one 
thousand eight hundred and eleven, previous to such 
hostilities : Provided alivays, that such tribes or na- 
tions shall agree to desist from all hostilities against 
his Britannic Majesty, and his subjects, upon the rati- 
fication of the present treaty being notified to' such 
tribes or nations, and shall so desist accordingly. 

ARTICLE THE TENTH. 

Whereas the traflic in slaves is irreconcilable with 
the principles of humanity and justice, and whereas 
both his Majesty and the United States are desirous 
of continuing their efforts to promote its entire aboli- 
tion, it is hereby agreed that both the contracting par- 
ties shall use their best endeavors to accomplish so de- 
sirable an object. 

ARTICLE THE ELEVENTH. 

This treaty, when the same shall have been ratified 
on both sides, without alteration by either of the con- 
tracting j^arties, and the ratifications mutually ex- 
changed, shall be binding on both parties, and the 
ratifications shall be exchanged at Washington, in 
the space of four months from this day or sooner if 
practicable. 
In faith whereof, we, the respective plenipotentiaries, 

have signed this treaty, and have thereunto affixed 

our seals. 

55 



431 JlPPENDIX. 

Done, in tieplicale, at Ghent, the twenty fourth <Iay of 
December, one thousand eight hnnrlied and fourteen. 
(L s.) GAMBIEll, 

L s.) HENRY GOULBURN, 

^JL s.) WILLIAM ADAMS, 

1. s.) JOHN a ADAMS, 

L s.) J. A. BAYARD, 

J. s.) H. CLAY, 

L s.) JONA. RUSSELL, 

L s.) A. GALLATIN. 

Now therefore, to the end that the said treaty of 
peace and amity may be observed with g^ood faith, on 
the part of the United States, I, James Madison, pre- 
sident as aforesaid, have caused the premises to be 
made public ; and I do hereby enjoin all persons 
bearing' office, civil or mihtary, wthin the United 
States, and all other citizens or inhabitants thereof, or 
being within the same, faithfully to observe and fulfil 
the said treaty and every clause and article thereof. 
In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the 
(l s) United States to be affixed to these presents, 
and signed the same with my hand. 
Done at the city of Washington, this eighteenth day 
of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and fifteen, and of the sovereignty 
and independence of the United States the thirty 
ninth. 

JAMES MADISON. 
By the president. 

JAMES MONROE, Acting Secretary of State. 




LIST OF VESSELS TAKEN FROI\r GREATv 
BRITAIN, BY THE PLTRLIC AND PRIVATE 
ARMED VESSELS OF THE U. STATES. 





Names of vessels. 






Taken by the 


Arrived at 


1 


rch'r. Whiting* 


h 


20 


Dash 


Hampton Reads 


2 


briij; Ulysses 






Paul Jones 


Norfolk 


3 


brig Gypsey 






do. 


New-York 


4 


brig Pickerin? 






do. 


Gloucester 


5 


-.hip Roba &. Betspy 






do. 


Charleston 


6 


ship Margaret 


2 


13 


Tea7.er 


Portland 


7 


transport No. 60* 


2 


12 


Madison 


Gloucester 


8 


brig Bloodhound* 


12 


60 


Cora 


Annapolis 


9 


sloop — 






N. Y Militia 


Putneyville 


10-20 


1 1 transport boats* 






do. 


Ogdensburg 


21 


ship Concord 


4 




Fame 


Salem 


22 


Drig Elbe 






do. 


do. 


23 


brig Hermon 






Dolphin 


do. 


24^25 


a brig and sch'r 






do. 


do. 


26 


ship Jane 


14 




Madison 


Gloucester 


27 


ship Emperor 






Gun Boatsj 


St. Mary's 


28 


^hip Experiment 






do. 


do. 


29-32 


4 ships and brigs 






do. 


do. 


33 


sch'r Wade 






Revenue Culterf 


Amelia 


34 


brig Eliza 


6 




Madison 


Salem 


Sii-S? 


:i shallops 






Lion 


Marblehcad 


38 


brig — 


6 




Lion &, Snowbird 


iio. 


39 


sloop Endeavor 






Polly 


Salera 


40 


brig Juno 






Madison 


do. 


41 


ship — 






do. 


Cape-Ann 


42 


brig— 






do. 


do. 


43-45 


3 sch'rs 






Jefferson 


Salem 


46 


brig Wabisch 






D(j|[iliin 


do. 


47 


sch'r Ann 






Nonpareil 


Charleston 


48 


sch'r Pindar 






Gun Boatsf 


.Amelia 


49 


ship Jarrett 


2 


18 


Fair Trader 


Salem 


50-S- 


3 schooners 






do. 


do. 


53 


■>chooner — 






Dolphin 


made a cartel 


54 


si'h'r Ann 






do. 


Salem 


55-0 8 


i schooners 






Jeffer. &. Dolphin 


do. 


69 


iiriii; — 






Dolphin 


do. 


60 


^chooner — 






Lion 


Marblehead 


61 


schooner— 






Argus 


Portland 


62 


SIDOp — 






Polly 


Salem 


63 


sch'r Fanny | | 


Dolphin 


Baltimore 


64-65 


2 schooners 


1 


1 


Buckskin 


Salem 



Note. Those marked with an [*] were H. B. Majesty's pvhlic vessels 
.ind those with a [f ] are U. S. pulAic vessels. 



436 


X 


i.PPENDIX. 




66 


brig Lamprey 


/ 


F. Essex* 


Baltimore 


67 


transport brig* 




197 


do. 


ransomed 


68 


sch'r Mary Anu 






Buckskin 


Salem 


69 


ship Mary 


14 




Dolphin 


do. 


70 


sch'r — 






Fair Trader 


Wiscasset 


71 


sch'r Diligent 






Polly . 


Salem 


72-73 


2 schooners 






Snowbird 


do. 


74 


a Snow 


6 




Rev. Cutterf 


Savannah 


75 


sch'r Jane 






Dolphin 


Marblehead 


76 


ship Ann Green 


10 




Gossamer 


Boston 


77 


barque St. Andrews 


8 




Rapid 


Portland 


78 


brig Shamrock 


6 


16 


Rev. Cutterf 


Savannah 


79 


sch'r Sally 






Teazer 


made a cartel 


80 


sch'r Nelson 






BHckskin 


Salem 


81 


schooner — 






Fame 


do. 


.82 


sch'r 3 Brothers 






Wiley Reynard 


Boston 


83 


barque 






Catharine 


Portland 


84 


brig- 






Polly 


ransomed 


85 


ship Henry 


10 




Comet 


Baltimore 


86 


sch'r Alfred 






Spencer 


do. 


87 


sch'r Eliza 






Polly 


Salem 


88 


br Lady Sherbroke 


4 


Marengo 


New York 


89 


br, Eliz&, Esther 


1 


Gov. M'Kean 


Philadelphia 


90 


ship Boyd 


10 


Globe 


do. 


91 


brig Ranger 


6 




Matilda 


do. 


92 


sch'r Polly 






Wiley Reynard 


Boston 


93-95 


3 brigs 






do. 


Wiscasset 


96 


sloop Mary Ann 






Paul Jones 


Philadelphia 


97 


ship Hassan 


14 


20 


do. 


Savannah 


98 


brig Harmony 


4 


28 


Yankee 


New York 


99 


brig- 






do. 


made a cartel 


100 


ship Briganza 


12 


21 


Tom 


Baltimore 


101 


brig Waldo 






Teazer 


Portland 


102 


sch'r Ann 


4 




Globe 


Baltimore 


108 


sh. Prince Adolphus 


8 


36 


Gov. M'Kean 


Philadelphia 


104 


ship 






Teazer 


Portland 


105 


sch'r Harriet 






High Flyer 


Baltimore 


106 


brig Ceres 






John 


Salem 


107 


brig- 






Lynn 


Gloucester 


108 


brig William 






Rossie 


Boston 


l«9-n5 


ships &. brigs 






do. 


burnt 


116-117 


brig & schooner 




108 


do. 


made a cartel 


118 


sch'r Industry 






Benj. Franklin 


New-York 


119 


sch'r Perseverance 






Nonsuch 


Charleston 


120 


ship Simon Clark 


16 


39 


Globe 


Norfolk 


121 


Honduras Packet* 


2 


12 


Mary-Ann 


Charleston 


122 


brig Amelia 


10 


17 


do. 


do. 


123 


sch'r Mary 






do. 


burnt 


124 


schooner — 






do. 


made a cartel 


125 


sch'r Union 






John 


Salem 



brig Elizabeth 

-129 brigs 

■IJ\ 5ch'r &. sloop 
brig Geo. Blake 
brig- 
brig James 
ship Apollo 
ship Royal Bounty 
brig Mary 
Schr. Venus 
ship Osborn 
brig Eliza 
brig Richard 
brig Nancy 
brig— 
|Schr — 
brig Leonidas 
Schr. Sky Lark 
brig Lady Prevost 
brig Friends 
brig Mary 
hip Jane 
ship John 
Schr. — 
ship Grenada 
sch'r Shadock 
barque Diana 
brig Roe-buck 
ship Guerriere* 
brig lady Warren 
brig Abona 
barque Harriet 
brig Dutchess 
brig Traveller 
brig Henry 
hip Hopewell 
brig Hazard 
sch'r Phoebe 
brig Thetis 
brig Alfred 
brig Antelope 
ship Kitty 
sch'r Spunk 
sch'r Providence 
ship Guayana 
bar duke of savoy 
ship Pursuit 
ship Evergreen 
brig New Liverpool 
ship Mary Ann 



APPENDIX. 


4 


4 


12{ John 


Salem 






do. 


ransomed 






Orlando 


Gloucester 






Revenue Cutterf 


Charleston 






Bunker Hill 


do. 






do. 


Falmouth 


8 




John 


Salem 


10 


29 


Yankee 


sunk 




47:do. 


made a certel 




jTeazer 


Portland 


10 


is'do. 


do. 




'Marengo 


New York 






Industry 


Marblehead 






Fair Trader 


Salem 






Bunker Hill 


New- York 






Leander 


Providence 


14 




Mars 


Savannah 






Bunker Hill 


New-York 






Marengo 


do. 






Bfciij Franklin 


Boston 


i 


do. 


do. 


12 18 


Rossie 


Salem 


16 30 


F. Presidenlf 


Philadelphia 






Teazer 


Portland 


11 


30 


Young Eagle 


Charleston 


2 


10 


do. 


do. 






High Flyer 


Savannah 






Rosamand 


Norfolk 


49 


302 


F. Constitutionf 


burnt 






do. 


do. 






do. 


do. 






do. 


do. 






F. Congress! 


do. 






do. 


do. 






Yankee 


Newport 


14 


26 


Comet 


Baltimore 


6 




ship Waspf 


Boston 






Squando 


Portsmouth 






Yankee 


burnt 






do. 


do. 






Dolphin 


Salem 






Rossie 


Portland 






Fair Trader 


Salem 






Wiley Reynard 


New York 


8 




Dromo 


Salem 


8 




Decatur 


do. 






Atlas 


Philadelphia 






Dolphin 


Salem 


4 




Yankee 


New York 


12 


18 


High Flyer 


Charleston 



438 



APPENDIX. 



179 

180 

181 

182 

183- 

184 

185 

186 

187 

188 

189 

190 

191 

192 

193 

194 

195 

196 

197 

198 

199 

200 

201 

202 

203 

204 

205 

206 

207 

208 

209 

210 

211 

212 

213 

214 

215 

216 

217 

218 

219 

220 

221 

222 

223-225 

226 



ship Elizabeth llO 
sch'r James 
brig Pursuit 
brig Tay 
ship Britannia 
brig Howe 
brig Elizabeth 
ship Jamaica 
brig Alert* 
transport ship* 
brig King George 
shij) — 
brig Ocean 
brig Tulip 
ship Esther 
sch'r Venus 
ship Quebec 
ship Richmond 
ship Adonis 
ship Falmouth 
brig Two Friends 
snow Two Friends 
brig William 
sch'r Trial 
sch John &c George 
ship — 
brig — 

sch'r Mary Ann 
brig Laura* 
sch'r Rising States 
brig Hannah 
ch'r Mary 
brig- 
brig Pomona 
brig Devonshire 
brig Concord 
brig Hope 
-ch'r Minorca 
barque Charlotte 
-^hip Mariana 
brig Diana 



21 
122 

378 

25 
26 

25 

52 
14| 25 
\2\ 35 
14; 30 

I 

6 



10 50 



brig 



brig Isabella 
sliip — 
'i vessels 
>hip John 



14 36 



Sarah- Ann 

Di^lphin 

Rapid 

do. 

Thrasher 

Dart 
Decatur 
High Flyer 
F. Essexf 
do. 
do. 
Revenge 
Saratoga 
Atlas 
Montgomery 
Saratoga 
do. 
Thomas 
Montgomery 

Thomas 

Benj. Franklin 

Dart 

Rossie - 

Leander 

Regulator 

Poor Sailor 

Dart 
Black Joke 
Diligent 
do. 
Montgomery 
do. 
Dart 
Decatur 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Wasp 
Decalur 
Gov. M'Kean 
DartJ 
Teazer 

do. 
Decatur 
Dolphin 
Comet 



Charleston 

Baltimore 

Portland 

do. 

do. 

do. 
Newport 
Baltimore 
iSTew-York 
made a cartel 
BostoR 
Portland 
New-York 
Philadelphia 
Gloucester 
New York 

do. 
Portland 
Salem 
Portsmouth 
Boston 

do. 

do. 
Providence 
Boston 
Wilmmgton 
P»)rtland 
Norfolk 
Philadelphia 

do. 
Salem 

do. 
Castine 
made a cartel 
France 
burnt 

made a cartel 
Savannah 
Boston 
Norfolk 
Portland 

do. 

do. 
Marblehead 
burnt 
Baltimore 



(J^Those in Italic are Letters of Marque vessels 



J This Privateer came into the harbor of Portland triumpluxr^l}^ 
mounted on the deck of her prize ! ! ! 





A] 


?P 


EN] 


DIX. 


4a« 


227 


ship Commerce 141 2£j 


Decatur 


Portland 


228 


brig Industry 


10 2C| 


Comet 


tVilmington 


229 


|jrivaleer Nassau 


4 


31 


Dolphin 


iialtimore 


2i0 


jrivateer brig 


« 


4( 


Rapid 


)urnt 


231 


3rig Tor Abbey 






Thresher 


<^ape Ann 


2J2 


brig Mary 






Benj. Franklu. 


(Jharleston 


233 


sbip Prins. Amelia 


10 


31 


Kossie 


Savannah 


234. 


schr. — 






Teazer 


Portland 


235 


Dfig— 






Marengo 


Newbury port 


236 ! 


srig Orient 






Teazer 


Portland 


237 ' 


schr. Jenny 






do. 


do. 


238 ' 


sch'r Adelia 






Rosamond 


New-York 


2J9 


t)rig Poii\t Shares 






Ballimore 


iialtiniore 


240 


brig San Antonio 






Marengo 


Philadelphia 


241 


brig Detroit* 


18 


78 


GunBoatsf 


burnt 


242 


sch'r Caledonia* 


4 


ic 


do- 


iMack Rock 


24 J 


sch'r Single-Cap 






Matilda 


-New Orleans 


244 


sch'r Fame 






Nonsuch 


Savannah 


245 


ship Phoenix 


12 


17 


Mary Ann 


Charleston 


246 


brig Concord 






do. 


do. 


247 


brig Favorite 


2 




Industry 


Lynn 


248 


brig sir Jol'u Moore 






do. 


do. 


249 


brig lord Sheffield 






Marengo 


')urnt 


250 


sch'r Betsey Ann 






Fame 


Salem 


251 


brig VVilliaui 






Montgomery 


do. 


252 


brig Henry 






John 


do. 


253 


sch'r Four Brothers 






Fame 


do. 


254 


sch'r four Sons 






do 


do. 


255-256 


2 sch'rs 






Dart 


v'ortland 


267 


sch'r Antelope 






Rosamond 


Oimrlestou 


258 


sch'r Dawson 






Wasp 


Savannah 


259 


brig Diamond 


10 




Alfred 


Salem 


260 


brig George 


12 




do. 


do. 


261 


brig Neptune 






John 


do. 


262 


ship Jane 






do. 


do. 


263 


sch'r — 






Saucy Jack 


nade a cartel 


264 


sl'p Louisa Ann 






Benj. Franklin 


i^ortland 


265 


ship Venus 






Two Brothers 


)urnt 


26B 


brig Ja. k Charlott 






America 


Salem 


267 


brig Fr. Blake 






Nonsuch 


Charleston 


268 


brig swallow*: 


14 


30 


F. Presideolf 


':5aliimore 


269 


brii^Porgie 






High Flyer 


Norfolk 


270 


ship Ned 


IG 


1( 


John &c George 


Salem 


271 


sch'r Sisters 






Fame 


do. 


272 


sch'r Comet 


2 




Rapid 


Savannali 


273 


Privateer Scorcher 


1 


2( 


do. 


iurnt 


374 


sch'r Mary 






do. 


ransomed 


275 


sch'r Mary Hall 






ship Geo. Pikef 


Sacketts Harbor 


276 


si. Elizabeth 






do. 


do. 


277 


transport sch'r^r 






do. 


)urnt 



440 




APPENDIX. 


278 


brig Union 


6 




Gen. Armstrong 


279 


sch'r Neptune 






Revenge 


280 


barque Fisher 






Fox 


281 


brig James Bray 






Bunker Hill 


282 


bri» lady Harriet 






orders in Council 


28.J-285 


3 vessels 






do. 


286 


brig Freedom 


6 




Thorn 


287 


sch'r A-merica 






Pame k. Dromo 


288 


brig- 






Joel Barlow 


289 


packet John Bull* 






Rover 


290 


«hip Argo 


12 


26 


F. Presidentf 


291 


F. Macedonian* 


49 


306 


F. United Statesf 


292 


ship John Hamilton 


16 


30 


Dolphin 


293 


brig— 






brig Argusf 


294 


sch'r Lorain 






Revenge 


295 


brig Bacchus 






do. 


296 


brig Venus 


10 




Polly 


297-306 


nine vessels 






Patriot 


307 


packet Townsend* 


9 


28 


Tom 


298 


packet Burchall* 






Highflyer 


308 


sch'r — 




74 


do. 


309 


brig Criterion 






do. 


310 


sch'r Neptune 






Revenge 


311 


brig Neptune 






Roba 


312 


sch'r — 






Revr-nge 


313 


brig Fancy 






Joel Barlow 


314 


sloop Nelly 






Revenge 


315 


brig Devonshire 






Deca'ur 


316 


s 5a'r — 






Retali»*ion 


317 


ship James 


22 


67 


Gen. Ar nstrong 


318 


bvig two Brothers 






Benj I'^v-^nklin 


319 


brig Active 


10 


18 


Hi^nflyer 


320 


brig — 






Dart 


321 


brig Pomona 


8 




1^0 


322 


ship Betsey 


5 




Revenge 


323 


brig Dart 


8 




.\meiica 


324 


ship Queen 


16 


40 


Gen. -Armstrong 


325 


brig Charlotte 


10 




America 


326 


sch'r William 


2 


30 


Liberty 


327 


brig Recovery 






brig Argusf 


328 


brig Lucey &, Alida 






Revenge 


329-332 


tnree vessels 






Jacks Favorite 


333 


sch'r Swift 






Rolla 


334 


sch'r — 




150 


Roll a 


335 


sloop Reasonable 






Liberty 


3JG 


sch'r Maria 






do. 


337 


sch'r Catherine 


3 


24 


Lady Madison 


338 


sch'r Maria 






do. 


339 


ship Rio Nouva 


i8 


25 


Rolla 


3\0 


3ch*r Rebecca 






Jacks Favorite 



iBoston 

Cape Add 

Portland 

Boston 

New- York 

ransomed 

Marblehead 

Salem 

New-London 

destroyed 

Baltimore 

New- York 

Baltimore 

Hampton Roads 

Philadelphia 

Salem 

Savannah 

sunk &I. burnt 

ransomed 

Baltimore 

made a cartel 

Nt'w-York 

made a cartel 

Portland 

burnt 

N'fw London 

Philadelphia 

Prance 

New- York 

destroyed 

New York 

Charleston 

Portland 

Belfast 

Wilmington 

Salem 

wrecked 

Salem 

Savannah 

New- York 

Norfolk 

burnt 

do. 

made a cartel 
iestroyed 
ransomed 
Charleston 
made a cartel 
New-York 
New-London 



APPENDIX. 



441 



S41 brig— 

342 privateer Richard 

343 ship Hope 

344 ship Ralph 

345 ship Euphemia 

346 brig — 

347 schooner — 

348 sch'r Meadau 

349 ship Mary 

350 sch'r Erin 

351 packet Nocton* 

352 brigBarrossa 

353 sch'r Mary 

354 brig Pegsy 

355 ship Arabella 

356 brig Andalusia 

357 brig &, sloop 
3i8 P Java* 

359 brig— 

360 ship Diligence* 

361 schooner— 

362 ship Neptune 
363-364 two vessels 
SbA ship — 

366 ship Volunteer 

367 ship— 

368 sch'r Ellen 

369 ^hip Jane 

370 sch'r Pr. of Wales 

371 ship Aurora 

372 373 two vessels 

374 brig Pelican 

375 ^hip — 

376 l)rig Emu* 
S77 brig Ana 

378 'Jriii — 

379 sch'r Sabine 

380 'ransport Canada* 

381 brig Isabella 
352 brig 3 Brothers 

383 -loop Mary Ann 

384 )rivateer Andalusi 

385 ^ch'r George 

386 -hip Albion 

387 'jrig Harriot 

388 ship Nelson 

389 ship Neptune 

390 'hip— 

391 brig— 

392 ichooner — 

56 



14 



10 



4'j 



27 



10 



12 



20 



12 



90 



438 



60 



7^ 



120 



)!ioo 

25 
14 



Ned 

Holkor 

America 

do. 

do. 

Decatur 

do. 
Sparrow 
Rnlla 
Eagle 
F. Essexf 
Rolla 
Eagle 
Hunter 
Growler 
Yankee 
do. 
F. Constitutionf 

Growler 
Eastport militia 
Gallinipper 
Decatur 
do. 

America 
F. Chesapeakef 
do 
S, Hornetf 

Spy 
Growler 
Holkar 
Mars 
do. 
Lady Madison 
Growler 
do. 
United we stand 
Erie Militia 
Paul Jones 
do. 

Do![)hin 
Yankee 
do. 
do. 

Hazard 

Yaiikee 

Decatur 

Saratoga 

Bdua 

D >Iphia 

Lovely Las=; 



Ocracoke 
Savannah 
Marblehead 
Portland 

do. 
France 

do. 
ransomed 
Newport 
Charleston 
made U S. vessel 
Martha's Vineyard 
Charleston 
Boston 
New-London 
Savannah 
ransomed 
burnt 
ransomed 
Machias 
ransomed 
Portland 
France 
Kenrifcbunk 
Portsmouth 
burnt 

Ncw-Caslle 
VfW Orleaas 

ansomftd 
Newport 

iiade cartels 

,/harleston 
N^ewburn 

•larbiehead 
do. 
■ivannah 

'iirnt 

i.ade a cartel 
do. 

Vow York 

I'jrnt 

savannah 

nade a cartel 

-;t. Mary's 

Boston 

\ew Orleans 

do 
Newport 

New London 
I.Vew 0r!ean^3 



445 



APPENDIX. 



-410 



393 

394 

395 

396 

S97 

398 

39y 

400 

401 

402 

403 

404 

405 

406 

407 

408- 

411-413 

414 

415-416 

417 

418-420 

421 

421 

423 

424 

425 

426 

427 

428 

429 

430 

431 

432 

433 

434 

435 

436 

437 

438 

439 

440 

441 

442 

443 

444 

445 



13i 



brig Shannon 

ship Mentor 
^chV Huzzar 
brie Resolution 
5hi'> Peacocks- 
hi'"; Anfritn 
bn^Fly 

h.i.oner— 
br. ; Earl Percy 
brig Hero 
bris Rover 
fransport Alder* 
brig Return 
brig ThornasJ 
fhree vessels 
hree vessels 
sloop — 
two vessels 
brig- 
three vessels 
privateer Caledonia 
brio; Tartar 
tender Fox* 
br. London Packet 
srb'r Farmer 
schooner — 
privat sch'r Crown :10 
hip Francis 
bris; Malvina 
brig Charlotte 
Ru ol Gloucester* 
priv. sch'r Richard 
priv sloop Dorcas 
Uriq'Edviard 
^rfi'r Hope , 
bri,^ — 
ship Nancy 
-chooner — 
ch'r Delight 
's:ke* Mary Ann* 
'••i|> Dronio 
i-ig— 

tnvinc. NapoIeon| 
acket Ann* 
sch*r Greyhound 



hV\ 



5L 



3\ 2h 



10 



10 



56 



161 

8i 

( 

12 

12, 

I 
\ 

IG 

10, 



58 



Yankee 
Paul Jones 
Saucy Jack 

Liberty 
ship Horuetf 

do. 

Saucy Jack 

Yankee 

do. 

Chesapeakef 

do. 

Ah^red 

Yankee 

Pan! Jones 

Yankee, 

Snap Dragon 

do. 

do. 

Divided we Fall 

do. 

do. 

sch'r Nonsuchf 

Gen. Armstrong 

Hero 

Paul Jones 

Sparrow 

Wasp 

(Tiiliiia volunteers 

r. biood. yaakee 

Ned 

Montgomery 

ship Madison 

Holkar 

do. 

Alexander 

do. 

Fox 

York Town 

ship Gen. Pikef 

Fame 

Gov. Tompkins 

Thomas 

do 

Young Teazer 

do. 

do. 



Bristol 

Chatham 

>J»'\s'- Orleans 

-Savannah 

)urnt 

-inik 

New-Orleans 

•':;ar!eston 

L'arpauhn Cove 

New- York 

)urnt 

Salem 

Bristol 

Tbatham 

Boston 

burnt 

ti!ade cartels 

made a tender 

ransomed 

sunk 

ransomed 

Charleston 

Georgetown 

Mystic 

wrecked 

given up 

Machias 

Waldohorougk 

Brest (France) 

Wilmington 

Salem 

Sackett's Harbor 

Savannah 

made a cartel 

Salem 

made a cartel 

Portsmouth 

Bristol 

Sackett's Harbor 

.Machias 

Boston 

Wiscasset 

Bootliebay 

Portland 

do. 

do. 



J T/ii.y ship was originally a French privateer, and captured by H. B. 
Majesty's ship Muline ; re cafiurcd hi/ the Jtexandcr of Salem ; rere- 
captnred by H. li. Majtsly'sjrigate ShainiO}!- and re-re re caplund by the 
Teazer of New York, and sent into Vorllund! ! ! 







1 


LPP 


ENDIX. 


14o 


446 


brig Mary 






Anaconda 


New London 


4*7 


br. Kingston packet 






Globe 


Ocracoke 


448 


brig Mutiny 


\h 




do. 


Seaufort 


4i9 


br. S Geo. Prevost 






Rolla 


Vew Orleans 


450 


privateer L. packet 


t 


:33 


Thames 


Portsmouth 


451 


King's packet* 


14 


40 


Anaconda 


Dcracoke 


452 


brig David 






G.»v. Plnmer 


Portsmouth 


45.3 


Packet* 






Anaconda 


■uade a cartel 


45* 


ship Mary 


8 




do. 


New Haven 


465 


ship William 


10 




Grand Turk 


vilem 


456 


brig Harriot 






Anaconda 


V IV Bedford 


457 


brig Mars 






Fox 


/•.rismouth 


458 


■ich'r Pearl 






Liberty 


^ ivannab 


459 


itrivateer sloop 


8 


40 


do. 


iiade a cartel 


460 


brig- 






Gov. Plumer 


lurnt 


461 


brig— 






Sabine 


do. 


462 


f)rig Dinah 






Globe 


Ocracoke 


463 


sch'r Britannia 






Grand Turk 


Portland 


464 


ship Loyal Sam 


10 


30 


Siro 


Charleston 


465 


ship Venus 


i4 




Globe 


Beaufort 


466 


ship Susau 






Siro 


France 


467 


ship Seaton 






Paul Jones 


>urut 


468 


sch'r Elizabeth 






Globe 


do. 


469 


ahip Pelham 






do. 


do. 


470 


brig Margaret 


It! 




America 


^alem 


471 


trans Ly. Murray* 


2 


22 


L. of the Lakef 


Sackelt'* Harbor 


472 


brig Morton 


VI 




Yorktovvn 


iiade a cartel 


473-475 


.J vessels 






Young Teazer 


Portland 


476 


brig Sally 


4 




Benj. Franklin 


acsomed 


477 


brig- 






Teazer 


Vew York 


478 


brig Hero 






do. 


Jastine 


479 


brig Resolution 






Nancy 


Portland 


480 


brig Hero 






F. Essexf 


')urnt 


'i8l 


t)rig James &c Sara? 






do. 


•ansomed 


482 


brig — 






Marengo 


Sew London 


483 


brig — 


6 




Gen. Armstrong 


.Martha's Vineyard 


481. 


>>rig James 






orders in Counci! 


J^ew York 


485 


brig Sally 






John 


Boston 


486 


brig Ann 






Teazer 


Portsmouth 


487 


brig Thomas 






Decatur 


made a carte! 


488 


brig — 


2 




Holkar 


New York 


489 


barque 


Ii 




Dolphin 


ournt 


490 


ship Betsey 






Revenge 


Wilmington 


491 


ship Eliza 






Yankee 


Boston 


492 


sch'r Success 






Benj Franklin 


ransomed 


49J 


sch'r Lady Clark 






Bunker Hill 


New York 


494 


sch'r Sally 






Wiley Reynard 


Boston 


495 


sch'r Blonde 






John 


ransomed 


496 


sch'r Ann 




do. 


Salem 


497 


sch'r Dorcas 






Liberty | 


ransomed 



444 



APPENBIX. 



498 

499 

600 

501 

502 

503 

504 

505 

506 

507 

508- 

511 

512 

SIS- 

528 

529 

530 

5^1 

532 

533 

534 

53d 

63iy 

537 

538 

«89 

540 

541 

542 

643 

548 

549 

550 

551 

552 

553 

554 

555 

65& 

557 

558 

559. 

661 

662 

563 

56-i 

665- 

568- 

570 

571 



510 



527 



sloop Eagle* 
brig Union 
-hip Aurora 
ship — 

-hip Integrity- 
brig Avery 

hip Susan 
5hip Fox 
sch'r Leonard 
brig Betsey 

hree vessels 
soh'r — 



20 



16 



lO 



i.B &, 14 transp* 

■>ch'r S Sisters 

sch'r Gen. Hosford 

brig Nelly 
loop Pesigy 
ch Broth. «!^ Sist 

brig Louisa 
loop F(>x 
loop William 
loop Js & Eliza 

brig Chance 

brig Mary 

ship Venus 

brig Morton 
ch'r Dominico* 
hip LoD Trader 
-547 five bri»s 

privateer Fly 
ch'r Ceres 

barque Henrietta 

brig Ann 

sch'r Plying Fish 
loop Catherine 

scli'r Kate 

ship Louisa 

brig 3 Brothers 

brig Earl of Moira 

shooner — 
560 two vessels 

sch'r Louisa 

priva. Kg. of Rome 

ship — 

schooner — 
567 three vessels 
569 two vessels 

brig- 
schooner— 



4 13 GunBoatsf 
T. B. Yankee 
do. 
Rambler 
T. B Yankee 
Yorktown 
do. 
20 brig Arguiif 
T. B. Yankee 
Jacks Favorite 
America 

Fox 
Yankee 
4, 65 2 row boatsf 
Saucy Jack 
Decatur 
Fox 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Dolphin 
Yorktown 
Decatur 
do. 
Snap Dragon 
30 brig Enferprizef 
Yankee 
Snap Dragon 
do. 
Saucy Jack 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 

Industry 
Terrible 
Swiftsure 
26 Expedition 
40 brig Argusf 
F. Presidentf 

do. 
T. B Yankee 
Leo 
Brutus 
Gen. ArmslroDg 



10 



New York 
France 

do. 
wrecked 
N'orway 
New Bedford 
France 
=iunk 

o. 

Plymouth 
made cartels 
ransomed 
Bristol 

Sackett's Harbor 
St Mary's 
Savannah 
burnt 
ransomed 
burnt 
ransomed 
Norway 
France 
ransomed 
Norway 
burnt 
Salem 
Wilmington 
Charleston 

do. 
destroyed 
Portsmouth 
made a cartel 
Beaufort 

do. 
ransomed 
Cape Henry 

do. 
burnt 
St Mary's 
Machias 
Eastport 
Machias 
Newport 
destroj'ed 
France 

do. 

do. 

do. 
ransomed 
burnt 





APPENDIX. 




4 


672 


brig Boxer-'f 


18 


96 


brig Enterprize^ 


Portland 


673 


schooner— 






Mate and crew ! 


Castine 


574. 


f5chooner— 






Terrible 


ransomed 


575 


brig Jane 






Snap Draggon 


Newbern 


676 


brig— 






Grainpus 


burnt 


577-578 


2 vessels 






Terrible 


Salem 


579 


^ch'r Lilly 






Pilot 


ransomed 


580 


brig Mary Ann 






do 


do 


581 


brig— 






Gen. Armstrong 


burnt 


582-58d 


I brig and sloop 






Industry 


Machias 


584 


packet Lapwing* 






Rattlesnake 


made a cartel 


585-586 


2 sbip3 






T. blood. Yankee 


France 


587 


•^loop Traveller 






Lark 


Machias 


588 


Duke of Montrose* 






F. Fresidentf 


made a cartel 


589 


brig Jane and Ann 






do 


sunk 


590 


brig Daphne 






do 


do 


591 


ship Eliza 


8 




do 


ransomed 


592 


brig Alert 






do 


burnt 


593 


barque Lion 


8 




do 


ransomed 


594. 


sch'r High Flyer» 


5 




do 


Newport 


595 


ih\\) Industry 






r. blood.Yankee 


Nforway 


596 


?hip Lond. Packet 


14 




Arsons 


Boston 


£97 


brig Atlantic 






do 


ransomed 


598 


brig Jane 






do 


made a cartel 


599 


brig Jane 






Snap Dragon 


ransomed 


600 


trig Venu3 






do 


made a cartel 


601 


sch'r Elizabeth 






do 


given up 


602 


brig Harpy 






do 


do 


603 


barq\ie Reprisal 






do 


ransomed 


604 


privateer Dart 


12 


45 


R. cut VIgillanlf 


Newport 


605 


»chV Salamanca 


6 


16 


brig Argusf 


destroyed 


606 


brig Susannah 






do 


made a cartel 


607 


brig Richard 






do 


burnt 


608 


brig Fowey 






do 


do 


609 


sloop Lady Francis 






do 


do 


610 


trans. Barbadoes* 






do 


do 


611 


trans Alliance* 






do 


do 


612 


sich'r Cordelia 






do 


do 


613 


ship Betsey 






do 


France 


614 


ship Mariner 






do 


sunk 


615 


sloop — 






do 


France 


616 


itrig Helena 






do 


made a cartel 


G17 


brig- 






do 


burnt 


618 


brig Diana &. Betty 






do 


do 


619 


ship Defiance 








do 


do 


620 


brig Baltic 








do 


do 


621 


sloop — 








do 


made a carte! 


622 


brig Belford 








do 


^unk 


623 


pilot boat sch'r 






do 


do 


624: 


brig — 








do 


do 



445 



446 




APPENDIX. 




625 


transport Julia* 


12 


202 


ship Madisonf 


Sacketts Harbor 


626 


sch'r Growler* 


11 


^t> 


do. 


do. 


627-6293 Gunboais* 


6 


M' 


do. 


do. 


630 


Gu'! boat* 


2 


;) 


do. 


burnt 


63 i 


packet Morgiana* 


I£ 




Saratoga 


Newport 


632 


ship — 






do. 


burnt 


633 


bng Sarah 






do. 


do. 


634 


sci;'r — 






Gen. Stark 


.Macbias 


635 


ship Economy 






Scourge &. RattU 


Norway 


6«6 


ship Pax 






do.Fsnak* 


do 


637 


ship Diiiorent 






do. 


do. 


638 


sch'r Liberty 






do. 


do. 


639 


3rig Betsey 






do. 


do 


640 


arig Hope 






do. 


do. 


641 


ship Hull 






do. 


do 


642 


ship Jol. Bachellor 






do. 


do- 


643 


ship Experiment 






do. 


do- 


644 


biig Ruby 






do. 


do. 


645 


ship BrilaQnia 






do. 


do. 


646 


sch'r Prosperous 






do. 


do. 


647 


jrig Burton 






do. 


do. 


6*8 


ship Latona 






do. 


do. 


649 


ship Frieods 






do. 


do. 


i550 


ship Nottingham 






do. 


do. 


«51 


\}i- Westmoreland 






do. 


do. 


€32 


brig Brothers 






do. 


do. 


653 


sloopPerseverance 






do. 


do. 


654 


ship Harford 






do. 


do. 


665 


ship Thetis 






do. 


do. 


656 


brig Brunswick 






do. 


do. 


637-669 


13 vessels 






Leo 


burnt 


6/0 


Gun boat* 


1 


60 


Morga' 's riflem. 


sacketts Harbor 


671 


ship Brutus 






Rattlesnake 


made a cartel 


678 


sch'r Fame 






Saratoga 


wrecked 


673 


ship St Lawrence 






- America 


Portsmouth 


67l-«75 


two vessels 






Yankee 


iHile a cartel 


676-6^0 


15 vessels 






Lady Cordeliu 


■W'stroyed 


69j 


brig- 






do. 


wrecked 


692 


brig President 






Folly 


S ivannah 


693 


brig Favorite 




180 


Yankee 


nade a cartel 


694 


brig Mary 






do. 


Chatham 


695-696 


(wo ships 






Sconrge 


Norway 


697 


sch'r Kaly 






Yankee 


'few- Bedford 


698 


sch'r — 






Water Witcr 


do. 


699 


sch'r Ann 






Gen Stark 


lochias 


700 


sloop Eliza 






Tim. Pickering 


■.iastport 


70 J 


brig Dart 






do. 


■ialem 


702 


sloop — 






East Port Fort 


''iastport 


703 


si. G. Hodgkinson 






Saratoga 


vrecked 


704-710 


seven vessels 






Ogdensburg Mil 


Og'lensburg 



711 

712 

713 

714 

715 

716 

717 

718 

719 

720 

721 

722 

723 

724 

725 

726 

727 

728 

729 

730 

731 

732 

733 

734 

735 

736 

737 

738 

739 

740 

741 

742 

743 

744 

745 

746- 

754 

755 

756 

757 

758 

759 

760 

761 

762 

763 

764 

766- 

774 

775 



brig Edward 

brig Janstoff 

brig Loyd 

?hi[) Vesta 

ship Fame 

sch'r Joseph 

Lady Gockburn 

Sir J. Sherbroke 

ship Manly 

brig— 

scb'r Messenger 

ship MontezuQfia 

ship Policy 

ship Georgiana 

ship Atlaa(ic 

ship Greenwich 

ihip Hector 

,hip Catherine 

^hip Rose 

biig Jane 

'jrig Diana 

Uiip Rose 

brig — 

brig Agnes 

■iloop John 

brig Abel 

brig Cossack 

scb'r Jasper 

?ch'r Rebecca 

sch'r Agnes 

brig Criterion 

sch'r Fanny 

sch'r Henry 

sch'r Maria 

ship Nereid 
•753^'ght vessels 

ship Castor 

brig Active 

ship Watson 

ship Cora 

brig Eliza 

sch'r Traveller 

sch'r George 

sloop Experiment 

sloop Vigilant* 

schooner — 

br. Young Husband 
■773 nine vessels 

brig Tullock 

ship Minerva 



APPENDIX, 


4 






Fox 


Folly Landing 






Washington 


P>rtland 






Saratoga 


burnt 


10 




do. 


ransomed 






do. 


Sew York 




29 


Saratoga 


.>adea cartel 






do. 


r.nsomed 


IC 


40 


Saucy Jack 


M Mary's 


4 




Revenge 


Charleston 






Caroline 


Durnt 






Comet 


vilmington 


2 


21 


F Essexf 


l-'fTU 


iO 


26 


do. 


Vjston 


6 


28 


do. 


ade ships ) 


8 


24 


do. 


of war > 


10 


25 


do 


.>f 20 guns } 


11 


25 


F Essex Juniorf 


-•eru 


8 


29 


do. 


do. 


8 


75 


do. 


lade a cartel 


10 


17 


F. Congressf 


. irnt 


10 


14 


do. 


.ade a cartel 






do 


unk 






Eliza 


.VilmingtoD 






Saucy Jack 


(iurnt 






do. 


uiisomed 






Caroline 


'.Vilmington 






Gen. Stark 


ieorgetown 






Caroline 


do. 






Grand Turk 


Portsmouth 






do. 


1-' ance 






Caroline 


Stonijiglou- 






Revenge 


Charleston 






Roger 


do. 






do. 


iurnt 


10 




Gov. Tompkins 


New York 






T. B. Yankee 


lurnt 






do. 


i;iven up 






do. 


France 






do. 


do. 






do. 


do. 






do. 


do. 






Frolic 


Squam 






Fly 


i-'ilsvvorth 






do. 


vlnchias 


4 


30 


Comet 


Wilmington 






Petapsco 


Savannah 






Gov. Tompkins 


Sewport 






Comet 


• unk 


10 




Fox 


Grloucester 






do. 


Portsmoutls 



447 



448 



APPENDIX. 



la 



776 bhip— 

771 brig Isabella 

778 sloop — 

779 schr. Harmony 

780 sloop Humbird 

781 brig — 

782 brig— 

783 scbr. Mary 

784 sloop— 

785 ship Wanderer 

786 ship Edward 

787 'schr Jonathan 

788 brig Britannia 

789 schr Curfew 

790 brig Terulla 

79 1 ship Galatea 

792 ship James 12 

793 ship — 16 
794-795 tvVo vessels 

796 privateer-— 

797 ship Sally 

798 ship — 
^■99 jbrig Superb 

800 privateer Mars 

801 brig Juno 

802 [brig Friends 

803 schr. Sea Flower 

804 schr. Hazard 

805 brig S(wereiga 
306 ship Diana 
1307 schr. William 
308 schr. Mary 
S09 brigBykar 

810 schr. Hope 

81 1 brig Rambler 

812 schr Eliza 

313 ship Lady Prevost 

314 sch. Susan &. Eliza 
815 schr. — 

316 'schr. Jane 

317 brig Falcon 
sl8 ,brig Superb 
319 ischr — 
329 ship John 

821 brig Brothers 

822 ship Victory 
323-826 ftur ships 
327 nip — 

828 brig Elizabpth 

829 fship Ann Catherine 



Gov. Tompkins pade a earte! 

brig Rattlesnake-f] Wilmington 

General Stark 

Terrible 

Surprize 

brig Rattlesnakef 

Fox 



30 



80 



Macedonian 

Hope 

F Presidentf 

do. 

do. 

Mars 

Alfred 

do. 

Chasseur 

T. B. Yankee 

do. 

Frolic 

Leo 

Delile 

brig Enterprizef 

Mars 

bs. Rati. & Ent f 

Grand Turk 

Diomede 

Tuckahoe 

do. 
America 

do. 

Diomede 

do. 

Fox 

Diomede 



10 



12 



wrecked 

Portsmouth 

Machias 

sunk 

burnt 

ransomed 

Philadelphia 

sunk 

do. 

do. 

New Bedford 

Marblehead 

burnt 

Beaufort 

France 

do. 

destroyed 

Cape Francois 

sunk 

St Mary's 

Charleston 

Wilmington 

France 

wrecked 

burnt 

do. 

Portsmouth 

burnt 

Savannah 

New York 

Gloucester 

Bristol 



bs. Rati. &c Ent.f burnt 



do. 

Invincible. 

Mars 

Viper 

Fairy 

America 

Mary 

Viper 

Saucy Jack 

America 

Viper 

Rattlesnake 

do. 

Caroline 

Saucy Jack 



i\o. 

\Vilmingtoa 

do. 

'Newport 

Wilmington 

Charleston 

New -York 

Newport 

Charleston 

Spain 

Camdeu 

Norway 

France 

Charleston 

Savannah 





APPENDIX. 


4 


830 


schr. Nimble 






Saucy Jack 


Beaufort 


831 


achr. Jason 






Caroline 


Imrnt 


832 


5chr. — 






Kemp 


Cape Francois 


833 


3chr. Trinitaria 






Saucy Jack 


Savannah 


834-842 


nine vessels 






P. Neufchattcl 


France 


843 851 


nine vessels 






Comet 


destroyed 


852-855 


four vessels 






do. 


ansomed 


856-857 


two vessels 






do. 


vVilmington 


858 


brig Apollo 


6 




America 


Salem 


359 


brig Anne 






do. 


nade a cartel 


860 


cutter Patty 






do. 


^unk 


861 


brig- 






do. 


Jo. 


862 


brig Henry 


6 




Gov. Tompkins 


Xe W.York 


863 


brig Abel 






do. 


Elizabeth City- 


864 


ship — 






Invincible 


Wilmington 


865 


sch. Encouragem't. 






Frolic 


destroyed 


866 


brig Tvvo Sisters 




Wasp 


Philadelphia 


867 


schr. Hope 






America 


burnt 


868 


schr. Sylph 






do. 


do. 


869 


schr. Eclipse 






Wasp 


wrecked 


870 


schr. Cobham 






JonquiUa 


Wilmington 


871 


brig Louisa 






Kemp 


Elizabeth City 


872 


ship Hive 






Surprize 


Norfolk 


873 


schr. Picton* 


8 


20 


F. Con.titutionf 


sunk 


874 


ship r^ovely Ann 






do. 


made a cartel 


875 


schr. Phoenix 






do 


sunk 


876 


brig Nimble 






Invindhle 


Teneriflfe 


877 


brig Ceres 






Grampus 


burnt 


878 


schr. — 






Saratoga 


New Bedford 


879 


sch. Friends Adv'tr 






Fox 


Wiscasset 


880 


brig Fanny 






Galloway 


France 


881 


brig— 






Fox 


burnt 


88^ 


schr. Eliza 






Snap-Dragon 


Beaufort 


883 


schr. Kentish 






Saratoga 


Fairhaven 


884 


5chr. Prince Regeni 


10 




Invincible 


ransomed 


885 


cutter Lyon 






do. 


given up 


886 


brig Portsea 


8 




do. 


ransomed 


887 


brig Conway 


10 




do. 


Portsmouth 


888 


sch Francis &cLuc) 






do. 


made a cartel 


889 


brig James 






Young Wasp 


France 


890-891 


two vessels 






do. 


made cartels 


892 


schr.— 






boat Alertf 


Burlington 


893 


ship Union 






Rambler 


wrecked 


894 


brig. Fair Stranger 






Fox 


Portsmouth 


895 


transport Mary ^ 


12 


82 


Rattlesnake 


France 


896 


brig — 






Expedition 


destroyed 


897 


sch'r Miranda 






Chasseur 


do. 


898 


sloop Martha 


4 


20 


do. 


made a cartel 


899-900 


two vessels 






do. 


destroyed 


901 


sch'r Adeline 




20 


E.Kppdilion 


New-York 



449 



D/ 



450 



APPENDIX. 



902 hr. Experience 

903 (lip Experence 
90* schV— 

905 ^ch'r Francis 

906 cii'r Appellodore 

907 cti'r William 

908 loop Irwin 

909 bng Bellona 

910 c h'r Prince 

911 sdi'r Industry 
.912 .loop— 

913 brig Roebuck 

914 diip Equity 

915 ship Adston 

916 ^ch'r— 

917 sloop Regent 

918 schV— 

919 sloop Epervier* 

920 kloop Cygnet 

921 Isch'r Diligence 

922 Lloop Bonita 

923 biig Robert 

924 brig Favorite 

925 bug— 

926 ship Su?an 

927 ship Doris 

928 brig Curlew 

929 brig— 

930 ship James 

931 >.rig .Swift 
9.32 !vig Caunelion 
93.i-934tvvo vessels 
9cio-9i4 10 vessels 

945 -^c'l'r Hope 

946 sch'r Pickrel 

947 <^hipPelham 
943 hip Fortuna 

949 ^ch'r— 

950 sliip Phoebe 

951 brig Kutusoff 

952 schr' Youn Farmer 

953 si h'r Miranda 

954 transport Rlartha* 

955 s( h'r Ann IMaria 

956 srh'r William 

957 ship Joanna 
958-959 two vessels 
960 sch'r Brilliant 
9G1 sliip Symmetry 
962 ship Wincbester 



128 



12 



10 



15 



4(t 



Caroline 
Rapid 
Perry 
Midas 
do, 
do. 
do. 
Globe 
sbi]) Adamsf 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Rattlesnake 
do. 

Saratoga 
do. 
do. 
brig Peacockf 
Saratoga 
York 
Delisle 
Zfebec Ultor 
David Porier 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Rattlesnake 
Young Wasp 
Zebec Ultor 
Mammouth 

Caroline 
Tom &t Leo 
Pike 
do. 
Sacey Jack 
Roger 
Viper 
Hawk 
Surprize 
Hcnrif Guilder 
Chasseur 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
James Monroe 
Scourge 
do. 
do. 



wrecked 
Savnnah 
Norfolk 
burnt 

do. 
made a cartel 

do. 
Barracoa 
burot 
do, 
given up 
made a carte i 
burnt 
sunk 
Fairhaven 

unk 

ransomed 
Savannah 
Wilmington 

Jestroyed 

do. 
Charleston 
%\ven up 
do. 

ransomed 
do. 

burnt 

Portsmouth 

ransomed 

Baliimore 

Portsmouth 

licstroyed 

France 

Saco 

sunk 

Charleston 

Beaufort 

Newport 

Wilmington 

Frankfort 

New York 

burnt 

made a cartel 

burnt 
do. 

sunk 

burnt 

Boston 

burnt 
do. 





APPENDIX. 


do 


963 


brig UnioD 






Scourge 


burnt 


<Ji»4 


stip — 






do. 


do. 


565 


sloop — 






do. 


sunk 


OGG 


brig DoTe 






Fox. 


burnt 


i)Q7 


ship Jane 






do. 


made a cartel 


yes 


brig Balize 




19] do. 


Poitsmoiifh 


969 


ship MfPmaid 






Gen. Pike 


Damarescotta 


a70 


ship Conimetce 






Ivanronce 


Portlard 


971 


ship Upton 


16 


104; Diomede 


Wiscasst't 


•J72 


ship Ilrro 


4 


20j prizf sliij) Upton 


made a cartel 


S73 


brig Providence 






Diomede 


sunk 


974 


brig Harmony 






do. 


do. 


S75 


brig Recovery 






do. 


do. 


976 


brig Melpomene 


G 




Chasseur 


Newport 


977 


brig BriUiDDia 






do. 


Beaufort 


978 


brig- 






Roger 


Norfolk 


979 


schooner — 






Leo 


Newport 


9aO 


ship Henry Dundas 






Rattlesnake 


made a cartel 


981 


brig Indian Lass 


10 


3 


Gian.l Turk 


Baltimore 


982 


brig Catherine 






do. 


burnt 


98'J 


sloop Caroline 






do. 


ransomed 


984-988 


5 Gun Boats* 


lO 


18 


\pplingsrj/7oyi€» 


Sackett's Har. 


989 


sch'r Traveller 






Dionx^de 


Thomastown 


990 


f)rig Ceres 






Lawrence 


Portland 


991 


ship Cod Hook 






Diomede 


Castine 


992 


sch'r Viltoria 






Hero 


Charleston 


993 


ship Joachim 






Caroline 


do. 


994 


-ch'r Rob. Hartwell 






Hero 


Newbern 


995 


'irig Liddelie 




1 


t> Amelia 


made a cartel 


996 


trig Jesfie 


G 


2 


do. 


burnt 


997 


ich'r Ann 




1 


u do. 


jiiade a cartel 


998--999 


; wo vessels 






Hero 


rai:some<l 


1000 


5ch'r Oclavia 






Harrison 


Charleston 


1001 


brig Little Fox 






sloop Frolic f 


destroyed 


1002 


schooner — 






do. 


do. 


1003 


sch'r Funchell 






Hero 


Nfewbern 


1004 


shipLon Packet 


12 




Chasseur 


Portsmouth 


1005 


brig Asfrea 


14 




Midas 


Savannah 


10U6 


privateer Dash 


4 


4 


do. 


do. 


1007 


sch'r Union 






Amelia 


ransomed 


1008 


GB. Black Snake* 


1 


2 


barge 


Sacketi's Har. 


1009 


ship Friendship 






Revenge 


destroyed 


lOlO 


sch'r Alert 






do. 


do. 


1011 


sch'r .^.ctive 






Fairy 


do. 


1012 


sch'r Mary Ann 






Revenge 


made a cartel 


1013 


brig Lord Nelson 






Zebec Ultor 


burnt 


1014 


sch'r Nancy 






do. 


do. 


1015 


schooner — 






do. 


do. 


1016 


sch'r Sambo 






do. 


do. 


1017 


schoonpr— 






do. 


made a cartel 



452 



APPENDIX. 



1018 -10l9two vessels 

1029 ship St. Jose 

1021 privateer Amnesty 

1022 sloop Tickler 

1023 sch'r Rambler 

1024 sch'r Fairy 

1025 sch'r Balaboo* 
1026- lOiS eighteen vessels 
3044 ship Friendship 

1045 bomb vessel* 

1046 ship Hugh Jones 

1047 sch'r Fox 

1048 brig David 

1049 brig Fidelity 
1060 tender* 

1051 seh'r Ellen 

1052 brig Duke of York 

1053 sloop George 

1054 brig Swift 

1055 brig Defiance 

1056 brig Friend&hip 

1057 brig Stag 

1058 ship Dorcas 
1069 sloop Henrietta 

1060 ship Berry Castle 

1061 sch'r Linnet 

1062 sch'r James 
1063-1068six vessels 



1069 
1070 
1071 



tender^ 

ship Melville* 

brig- 



1072 -1073 brig & schooner 



24 



50 



13 



Yankee 
do. 
Zebec Ultor 
do. 
Perry 
do. 
do. 
do. 

Herald 
Chauncey's gigf 
Yankee 
Surprize 
do. 
do. 
Gun Boat No. 88 

Herald 
Gen. Armstrong 
do. 



•1082 



1074 

1075 

1076 

1077 

1078 

1079 

1083 

1084 

108S 

1086 

aC87--1088 

1089 

1090 

1091 

1092 

1093 

1094-109/) 

3096-1109 



brig Fortitude 
sch'r Geo. Canning 
ship Pizarro 
Espiranza 



brig Elsinore 
four vessels 
schooner — 
brig Betsey 
ship Alfred 
ship Antonio 
two brigs 
sch'r H<*)iry 
packet Elizabeth* 
ship Hero 

Coun'ss of Hercourt 
packet Landraile* 
two vessels 
tburteen vessels 



II 



41 



6 90 
4b3 



Gen. 



do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 

Yankee 
Snap Dragon 
do. 
Prin Neufchatel 
N. London mil. 
Fort Niagara 
Rambler 
brig Rattlesnake! 
Surprize 
Armstrong 
Midas 
do. 
do. 

Harrison 
do. 
York 
Harpey 
do. 
do. 

Saratoga 

Harpey 

Ida 

Sabine 
Syren 
do. 
Gov. Tompkins 



[Portland 

do. 
jburnt 
Wilmington 

do. 

do. 

do. 
lestroyed 
vViimington 
i^resque Isle 
Bristol 

iiade a cartel 
lestroyed 
)urnt 

Portsmouth 
Beaufort 
iiurnt 

do. 

nade a cartel 

burnt 

do. 

do. 

sunk 

Egg Harbor 
ransomed 
Newbern 
burnt 
France 
iNew London 
blown up 
ransoniexi 

unk 
Union 

riiomastown 
Savannah 
do. 
do. 
ransomed 
Amelia 
Boston 
Wilmington 

do. 
burnt 

New Bedford 
ransomed 
Hyannis 
Wilmington 
New York 
destroyed 
burnt 



5-1119 



-1143 



APPENDIX. 


46, 


brig Betsey &.Mary 






Kemp 


burnt 


ship Calypso 






do 


.liven up 


brig Caledonia 






do 


ransomed 


br. New Frederick 






do 


do 


sch'r. Contract 






Roger 


Wilmington 


transport Doris* 


4 


56 


Grampus 


Marblehead 


ship Hoppet 






Saucy Jack 


Savannah 


brig Eliza 






do 


do 


two ships 






brig Syrcnf 


burnt 


barge* 






StonningtonMi!. 


Stonnington 


schooner 






a barge 


do 


ahip James 






Portsmouth 


Portsmouth 


sch'r Mary 






Shark 


New Orleans 


brig Hunter 


10 


20 


corvette Adamsf sunk 


brig Mary 






do 


do 


sch'r. Favorite 






do 


do 


ship Paris 






do 


do 


sch'r. IMaria 






do 


sunk 


brig Wirman 






Yankee 


Hyannis 


Cutter Wasp 






Rattlesnake 


burnt 


brig Dover 






do 


do 


brig Pickle 






Pike 


do 


schooner 






do 


made a cartel 


sch-r. Indnstri. Bee 






do 


burnt 


3ch'r. Venus 






do 


do 


sch'r. Lord Nelson 






do 


do 


sch'r. Hope 






do 


do 


sch'r Jane 




2j0 


do 


made a cartel 


brig Orient 






do 1 


^unk 


brig John 






do 


burnt 


br Kingston Packet 






Fox 


Portland 


two vessels 






Herald 


Ocracoke 


sh Sam Cuminings 






Pike 


wrecked 


ship Five Sisters 






Dash 


ransomed 


Barque Neptune 






sloop Waspf 


destroyed 


brig William 






do 


do 


brig Pallas 


2 




do 


do 


galliot Henrietta 






do 


made a cartel 


ship Orange Borer 


8 




do 


destroyed 


brig Regulator 






do 


do 


sch'r. Jenny 






do 


do 


sloop Reindeer* 


21 


118 


do 


burnt 


schooner 






Leach 


ransomed 


brig 






Hero 


Newbern 


brig Mars 






David Porter 


Boston 


brig Coruwallis 






do 


made a cartel 


ship Vester 


6 




do 


Boston 


brig Horatia 






do 


ransomed ^ 


ship Lid die 






Amelia 


made a carte! 


ship Jesse 






do 


burst 



454 


APPENDIX. 




1162 


transport Mink* 




1 ship Lawrencef 


Erie 


1163 


ran Perseverances 




do. 


destroyed 


1164 


^cli'r Nancy* 


."3 20 


do. 


do. 


1165 


rans. Endeavor* 




Surprize 


do. 


1166 


•ufter Jubilee 




Whig 


made a cartel 


1167 


ch'r Alexandria 




do. 


burnt 


1168 


ijrin Insh Miner 




do. 


made a cartel 


1169 


l)rig IVIary 




do. 


destroyed 


1170 


brit; Eliza 




do. 


made a oartel 


1171 


•^cli'r Esperance 




do. 


sunk 


1172 


ship London 




do. 


do. 


1173 


ship Postethwell 




do. 


do. 


1174 


brig Nancy 




Portsmouth 


P.):fland 


1175 


^loop — 




do 


I'.dde a cartel 


1176 


ship Detroit* 2 


] 


C Perry's fleetf 


P'lt inBay 


1177 


ship Q Charlotte* 1 


8 


do. 


do. 


1178 


brig Lady Prevost* 1 


\ 


do. 


do. 


1179 


)rig Hun'er* 1 





do. 


do. 


1180 


sloop Little Belt* 


'J 


do. 


do. 


1181 


sch'r Cliippe^vay* 


•3 


do. 


do. 


1182 


'A Confiafjce* 3 


.1 rV)0 


M'D duo's fleet f 


Plattsburgh 


1183 


l):ig Linnet* 1 


bl20 


do. 


do. 


1184 


-loop Chub* I 


1 40 


do. 


do. 


1185 


-oop Pinch* 1 


1 40 


do. 


do. 


ll&tt-1188 


i Gun Boats* 


ti 127 


do. 


sunk 


1189 


ansport Farmer* 




Mam mouth 


do. 


1190 


>rig Britannia 




do. 


do. 


1191-1193 


'^.ree brigs 




do. 


burnt 


1194 


)!■ Fortune of War 


3 40 


Giin Boatsf 


Sapcio 


1195 


ship Corontandel 


2 66 


York 


Baliimore 


1196 


brig Cyrus 




do. 


made a cartel 


1197 


■iloop Regulator 




do. 


Chatham 


1198 


b-igQ Charlotte 




Surprize 


destroyed 


1199 


siiip Milnes 


^ 15 


do. 


burnt 


1200 


brig Lively 




do. 


do. 


I20I 


sch'r P Regent 




do. 


do. 


1202 


ship Dorrfs 




do. 


do. 


1203 


brig Willing Maid 




do. 


do. 


1204 


brig Polly 


■< 15 


do. 


do. 


1205 


sch'r Sally 




do. 


do. 


1206 


privateer Lively 


1 17 


do. 


Salem 


1207 


ship Caledonia 




do. 


ransomed 


1208 


brig Eagle 




do. 


do. 


1209 


brig Traveller 


100 


do. 


made a cartel 


I2I0 


brig Wellington 


• 15 


do. 


do. 


1211 


brig Eliza 


82 


do. 


do. 


1212 


sch'r Ann 




do. 


Salem 


!21J 


transport Stranger* 6 


20 


Fox 


do. 


12I4-121G 


'hree vessels 




Spjrk 


given up 


1217 


l^etcb Expedition 




Grampus 


.\ew-York 



APPENDIX. 



455 



-1230 



S218 
1219 
1220 
1221 
1222 
1223 
12:;4 
1225 
1226 
1227 
1228 

122a- 

1231 

1232 
1233 
1234. 
1235 
12J6 
1237 
1238 
1^:39 
1240 

1241 

1242 
J24i 
1244 
1245 
1246 
1247 
1248 
1249 
1250 
1251 
1252 
1253 
1254 
1255 

1256-1257 
1258 
1259 
1260- 
1266 
1267 
1268 
1269 
1270 
1271 
1272 
1273 
1274 



126: 



ch'r Charlotte Ann 
icii'r William 
l)ri<i, Eclipse 
brig Cath* ririe 
sch'r Retrieve 
|)arket Leith* 
schV WilliaiiikAni 
br. Pe^jiy &. Arm 
Cutter Fy iiig Fish 
brig Aaron 
firig Harvest 
wo vessels 
bri<i Steady 
>c)i'r James 
brig C'>aliers 
brig Harmony 
brig Elizabeth 
hip — 

Princess Mary 
scb'r Eliza 
'irig Stranger 
•ch'r— 
^hip Hermes* 
>loop Jane 
brig Tritor 
rans. ship Aaron* 
)rig Apollo 
Cutter Gen Dojl 
loop George 
br Boswick Packe 
brig Sibron 
briti Nymph 
brig Albion 
hip Harmony 
brig Charlotte 
brig Mfiry Ann 
brin Douglas 
Launches* 
me do. do. 
vhip Neptune 
6 transports* 
sch'r Ann 
brig Susan 
ship James 
brig Jane 
sch'r— 

transport gloop-x^ 
brig .Avon* 
•irig Concord 
brig S[)eculation 



14 



175 



65 



Stirprize 
Viper 
Chasseur 
Grampus 
F<ix 
sloop Peacockf 
do. 
do. 
Sabine 
do. 
York 
Green 



»^Saco 
Salem 
New -York 
wrecked 
burnt 

do. 

do. 

do. 
Saco 

do. 
Machias 
destroyed 



Prin. Neufchattel burnt 



.84 

20 

'37 I 



do 
Amelia 

do. 

do. 

do. 
Whig 

do. 

sloop Peacockf 

Leach 

Mobile Fort 

Prin. Neufchattel 

do. 
do 
do 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 
do. 
Amelia 



do. 
do. 

made a cartel 
burnt 
Baltimore 
burnt 

made a cartel 
burnt 
ransomed 
blown up 
burnt 
^unk 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

made a cartel 
unk 

made a cartel 
burnt 

ransomed J 
burnt 

do. 
Nantucket 

do. 
sunk 
New-York 



Chaunceys Gigf Sackefts|Harbor 
her own crew Machias 



22:130 



Fox 

Portsmouth 

Dash 

Leo 

brig Eaglef 

ship Waspf 

Biro 
Grampits 



burnt 

Portsmouth 
ransomed 
Wilmington 
Plattsburgh 
unk 

made a cartel 
do. 



456 



1-132'. 



APPENDIX. 




*r.Sir Jo.Sherbroke 1- 


i 


Syren 


biirnt 


hip Adventurer 




brig Syrenf 


do. 


^•lip Fanner 




Mammoth 


do. 


s Jj'r Ann & Eliza 




do. 


do. 


^hip Urauia 




do. 


do. 


'>hip Anisba 




do. 


do. 


brig Eliza 




do. 


made a cartel 


ship Dobson 




do. 


burnt 


s!»ip Sallust 




do. 


made a cartel 


d'jop Christianna 


50 


Chasseur 


do. 


brig Prudence 




do. 


burr^t 


sloop Favorite 




do. 


do. 


brig Cornveallis 


(00 


do. 


made a cartel 


brig Alert 




do. 


burnt 


brig Harmony 


43 


do. 


made a cartel 


ship Carlbury 




do. 


Baltimore 


brig Seaflower 


. 10 


ship Peacockf 


destroyed 


brig Stranger 


B 20 


do. 


do. 


sloop Fortitude 




do. 


do. 


brig Venus 




do. 


do. 


brig Diana ( 


5 20 


do. 


made a cartel 


sloop Leith Packet 




do. 


destroyed 


br. William & Ann K 


3 40 


do. 


do. 


brig Peggy & Jane 




do. 


do. 


barque William 




do. 


do. 


ship Sir Ed. Pellew ^ 


i 20 


do. 


made a cartel 


brig Bellona 


11 


do. 


destroyed 


brig Trittoa 


10 


do. 


do. 


brig Duck 


14 


do. 


do. 


ship Mary 


15 


do. 


do. 


i)r.lhinksItomyself ' 


2 20 


Dash 


Portland 


scb'r Britannia 


19 


Harpy 


burnt 


brig Halifax Packet 


40 


do. 


Portsmouth 


brig Harvest 




York 


do. 


sch'r Prince Regent 




Da?h 


Portland 


(iriva. Retaliation 


5 20 


Two Friends 


Barnstable 


brig Commerce 




Chasseur 


Charleston 


sloop Farmer 




Mammoth 


sunk 


brig Britannia 




do. 


burnt 


?ch*r Two Brothers 


50 


do. 


made a cartel 


brig Ann Eliza 




do. 


burnt 


brig Uniza 




do. 


do. 


brig Ansley 




do. 


scuttled 


brig Sarah 




do. 


burnt 


brig Sir H. Popham 




do. 


do. 


sch'r Rapid 




do. 


do. 


ship C.'facvtjpion 


60 


do. 


made a cartel 


two vessels 




do. 


destroyed 


-chr Thomas 


40 


do. 


(nade a cartel 


•f h'r Good Intent 4 


3 


do. 


do. 



brig Joseph 


irj 


102 


Mammoth 


made a cartel 


•iri? Eliza 






do. 


given up 


• ch'r— ' 






Cus. House barge 


Camden 


brig Alalanta 






sloop Waspf 


Savannah 


brig Europa 


10 


22 


Petapsco 


Wilmington 


bria; Canada 


10 




Lawrence 


do. 


sch'r Fox* 


2 


25 


by her own cre.K 


iVewbem 


brig William 






Chasseur 


do. 


brig Lulice 




7 


sloop Waspf 


burnt 


brig Bon Accord 




7 


do. 


5unk 


transport Mary* 


2 


10 


do. 


bjirnt 


brig Three Brothers 


7 


do. 


do. 


brig Bacchus 


2 


11 


do. 


do. 


ship Ann Dorothy 
brig Hitam 






Saratoga 


Boston 






David Porter 


ransomed 


brig Nai.Cf 






Scourge 


New York 


ship Lortl Hood 






do. 


burnt 


brig Be'.field 






do. 


do. 


brig Susan &c James 




Fox 


do. 


sch'r Retrieve 






do. 


do. 


brig Concord 






do. 


made a cartel 


brig Cos*ac 






Surprize 


Boston 


sch'r Pink 






Grand Turk 


sunk 


brig Brothers 






do. 


do. 


brig Belgrade 




50 


do. 


made a cartel 


brig Robert Stewart 




do. 


burnt 


sch'r Commerce 






do. 


do. 


sch'r Mary 






Surprize 


sunk 


sch'r Bird 






Grand Turk 


Salem 


trans, ship Ocean* 




Gen Putnam 


do. 


sch'r Georgiana 






Grand Turk 


do. 


sloop — 






Scorpion 


do. 


sch'r — 






do. 


sunk 


sch'r Eugene 






Midas 


do. 


sch'r Stringer 






do. 


do. 


sch'r Betsey &. Jane 




Cadet 


Thomas town 


brig- 






Jonquillc 


ransomed 


sloop — 






Saucy Jack 


do. 


sch'r Mary 






do. 


do. 


sch KingstonPacket 






do. 


made a tender 


sloop Cyrus 






Packet tender 


burnt 


sloop Jane 






Saucy Jack 


made a cartel 


ship Amelia 


12 


40 


do. 


burnt 


sch'r Weasel 






do. 


St. Mary's 


sch'r Jane 






do. 


Savannah 


brig Louisa 






Macedonian 


burnt 


brig Britannia 






do. 


do. 


ship Sir Ed Pellew 


2 


19 


do. 


sunk 


sch'r Mariner 




22 do. 


made a cartel 


sch'r— 




Resolution 


Charleston 


r>s 











]oS 


APPENDIX. , 




1376 


brig S. B. 


2 12 


Kemp 


Charleston 


1377 


ship Ros ibell I 


6 35 


do. 


do. 


1378 


brig Vortsea 


8 26 


do. 


do. 


1379 


ship Princess 


2 14 


do. 


do. 


1380 


sch'r — 




Young Wasp 


Ocracoke 


1381 


sch'r Hazard 




Surprize 


burnt 


1382-J383 


(wo vesse-ls 




do. 


made cartels 


1384 


sch'r Maty 




do. 


burnt 


I3S5 


Kris: Cnurfney 




Yankee 


Fairhaven 


1j86 


^ch'r Poliy 




Dash 


Boston 


1387 


^(•h'r Swift 




Expedition 


Machias 


1388 


ship Amiable 




Roger 


Wilmington 


1389 


sch'r— 




Hero 


Beaufort 


1390 


transport shipf 




Fort Bowyer 


Mobile 


1391 


sch'r Mary-Ann 




Cadet 


Thomastown 


1392 


=;ch'r St, John 




Jonquilla 


ransomed 


1393 


^ch'r— 




do. 


made a cartel 


1J94 


brig Gen Maitland 




Dash 


Portsmouth 


1395 


• loop Mary 




do. 


made a cartel 


1396 


ch'r — 




Fame 


ThomastowH 


i;197 


ich'r Peggy 




Caroline 


made a carte! 


13y8 


sloop Eliza 




do. 


sunk 


1399 


-ch'r Mariner 




do. 


made a carte] 


1400 


brig; Stephen 1 


4 30 


do. 


do. 


1401 


sloop Trinidad 




Jonquilla 


burnt 


1402 


brig Equity 




Orlando 


Boston 


1403 


br Lord Wellington 




Diamond 


t^iven up 


1404 


brig Margaret 




Young Wasp 


Philadelphia 


1405 


ship Hero ' 


4 27 


Ino 


Boston 


1406 


brig Coliers 




Amelia 


burnt 


1407 


sch'r Nancy 




do. 


ransomed 


1408 


brig Harmony 




do. 


made a carle! 


1409 


trans Elizabeth* 


30 


do. 


burnt 


1410 


sch'r Neptune 


8 18 


do. 


ransomed 


1411 


ketch Caroline 


10 


do. 


do. 


1412 


brig Susannah 


21 


do. 


made a cartel 


1413 


sch'r Mary 1 


6 22 


do. 


Philadelphia 


1414 


brig Pallas 


8 21 


do. 


do. 


1415 


ship Gen.Wellesley 


8 86 


Yankee 


wrecked 


1416 


brig- 




Paul Jones 


Portsmouth 


1417 


Cutter Eliza 


106 


Lawrence 


made a cartel 


1418 


brig Good Intent 




do. 


burnt 


1419 


Cutter Dart 




do. 


do. 


1420 


brig Chrisfiaa 




do. 


do. 


Uil 


sch'r Atalanta 




do. 


do. 


1422 


br Lord Wellington 




Expedition 


do. 


1423 


ketch Expedition 




do. 


ivrecked 


1424 


sch'r Gold Finder 




Young Wasp 


Elizabeth CifT 


142.'» 


transport* 


250 


Cadet 5c S. Jack 


^vrecked 


use 


sloopGov.Hodgdon 




Dash 


given ui> 





APPENDIX. 


459 


J 427 


3rig Ouly Son '■ 


1 10 


Dash 'iivcn up 


1428 


entler* 


36 


Barjief < 


"harleston 


1429 


ransport* 




^I. Orleans milili-i 


urnt 


1430 


>hip Jane 




Harpey 


do. 


1431 


irig Wm. Neilson 




do. 


•lade a cartel 


1432 


,ch'r Nine Sisters 




do. 


iirut 


1433 


jrig Louisa 




do. 


fiiisomed 


1434 


>hip Win. &t Alfre*! 




do. 


do. 


14S5 


ransport Jant f 




do 


J ade a cartel 


1436 


jrig Courtney 




Yankee 


ransomed 


1437 


;hip St. Andrew i 


} 


do. 


do. 


1438 


irig Speculator 




do. 


nade a cartel 


1439 


tjrig Patriot 




Brutus 


Charleston 


1440 


t)rig Dantzic 




Paul Jones 


Vtachias 


1441 


tender* 


> 20 


Virginia militir 


Norlblk 


1*42 


transport Cyrus* 


i 12 


Lcb. N Orleans-f 


tiiirnt 


1443-1449 


seven transports* 1 
brig Peter 


Jll8 


3 LauDchesf 


i-ake Borgne 


1450 




Lawrence 


IJeaufort 


1451 


brig John ' 




Perry 


lialtimore 


1452 


brig Nancy 




do. 


made a cartel 


1458 


sch'r — 




Warrior 


.vrecked 


1454 


ship Williaia 




Charles Stewart 


Bath 


1455 


brig — 




Harrison 


ransomed 


1456 


sch'r — 




do. 


do. 


1457 


ship Mary 


6 


Lilfle George 


>larblehead 


1458 


tender sch'r Brent* 


Z 14 


Boatsf 


Charleston 


1459 


brig- 




Kemp 


Ocracoke 


1460 


sloop Enterprize 




Whig 


made a cartel 


1461 


brig Brunswick 




do. 


burnt 


1462 


sch'r Britannia 




do. 


do. 


1463 


brig Race Horse 




do. 


do. 


1464 


sch'r Mary 




Surprize 


do. 


1465 


sch'r Good Intent 




do. 


do. 


1466 


sch'r Nancy 




do. 


do. 


1467 


sch'r Hazard 




do. 


do. 


1468 


sch'r Sea Flower 




do. 


do. 


1469 


sch'r Lucy-Ann 




do. 


made a cartel 


1470 


brig Forth 




do. 


burnt 


1471 


ship Star 


8 26 


do. 


Baltimore 


1472-147^ 


two vessels 




Roger 


burnt 


1474 


ship — 




Ranger 


do. 


1475 


brig Athill 


8 


Lawrence 


France 


1476 


sch'r George 




David Porter 


made a cartel 


1477 


brig William 




Lawrence 


Beaufort 


U78 


brig- 




Champlain 


Portsmouth 


1479 


brig Susanna 




Sine qua non 


do. 


1480 


brig Flying Fish 




David Porter 


New-Bedford 


1481 


ship Corona 


8 


Chasseur 


Wilmington 


1482 


'pack Lady Pelham* 


10 4( 


1 Kemp 


do. 


-483 


brig Sarab 




Warrior 


sunk 



460 

1484 
1485 
1486 
1487 
1488 
I48y 

uyo 

1491 

1492 

1493 

1494 

1495 

1496 

1497 

1498 

1499 

1500 

1503 

1502 

1503 

1504 

1505 

1506 

1507 

1508 

1509 

1510 

1511 

1512 

1513 

1514 

1515 

1516 

1517 

1518 

1519 

1520 

1521 

1522 

1623 

1524 

1525. 

1526 

1527 

1528 

1529 

1530 

1531 

1532 

1533 



APrENDlX. 



brig Ly Troubridge 

ship Mary &, Susan 

scb'r Arrow 

sloop St. Lawrence^ 

ship Adventure 

sch'r Robert 

sloop Jubilee 

ich'r Hope 

^hip Emulation 

schooner — " 

sch'r Ceres 

sch'r William 

sloop Unity 

brig Daphne 

br. Crown Prince 

transport Juno* 

brig Ocean 

brig Langtou 

brig Adeona 

seb'r Sultan 

brig Sarah 

brig Legal Tender 

brig— 

'hip Auliguia 

ihip Limerick 

brig Helen 

brig Plutus 

ship Mary Ann 

brig Lord Duncan 

brig Cossac 

ich'r Resolution 

sloop — . 

ihip Otway 

brig— 

bri;i Alexander 

bi ig Eagle 
brig Susannah 

• ig Lord Nelson 

hip Arabella 
briff Madeira 

hip Anne 

ich'r Perseverance 
brig John 

br. Maria- Arrabella 
sloop Twins 
sloop L'Esperance 
sloop Constitution 
brig Mohawk 
ship- 
ship — 



] 'i 



85 



25 



I no 

Chasseur 

America 

Chasseur 

do. 

America 
do. 
do. 
Syren 
Macdonough 
Reindeer 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Porlsmoulb 
do. 
do. 
do. 

America 
Blorgian^ 
Warrior 
David Portfcr 
Prin. Neufchattel 
Fox 
Morgiana 
do. 
Young Wasp 
do. 
Morgiana 
do. 
Kemp 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Leo 
Lawrence 
^. Constitution |- 
do. 
Rambler 
do. 
Zebec Ultor 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Avon 
Jacob Jones 



burnt 

Savannah 

Salem 

made a carte! 

Charleston 

destroyed 

do. 
Salem 
Gracioso 
burnt 
do. 
do. 
made a cartel 
ransomed 
Sedgwick 
made a cartel 
burnt 
ransomed 
Salem 
Wilmington 
burnt 
Machias 
lunk 

Portsmouth 
New -York 

do. 
given up 

do. 
burnt 

made a cartel 
Beaufort 
j;iven up 
ansomed 

do. 
wrecked 

do. 
t*few-York 
burnt 
Macoa 
■j;iveu up 
Vew York 
burnt 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Baltimore- 
ransomed 
da. 



APPENDrX. 



461 



-.534 
1535 
1536 
1537 
1538 
1539 
1540 
1541 
1542 
1543 
1544 

1545-1546 
1547 
1548 
1549 
1550 
• 1551 
1652 
1553 
1554 
1555 
1556 
1557 
1558 
1559 
1560 
1561 
1562 
l5G3 
1564 
l565 
1 566 
1567 
]568 
1569 
1570 
1571 
1572 
1573 
1574 
1575 
1576 
1577 
1578 
1579 
1680 
J581 
1582 
1583 
1584 



frigate Cyane* 34 

brig Baltic 
loop Busy 

scli'r Black Joke 
loop Entcrprize 

pack. sh. Elizabeth 8 

sch'r Patriot 

pilot Boat 

sch'r Ontario 

;hip William 

ship Hero 

two scii'rs 

brig— 

bri}^ Resolution 

brij5 Ranger 10 

sch'r Peggy 

ship Codtinenoia 
ship King George 
sch'r Two Brothers- 
ship Commerce 
'^hip Diana 
bri<4 Concord 

hip — 
ship Ned 10 

loop Brothers 
sch'r Sally 

brig John 10 

sch'r Robin 
sloop Caroline 
brig Ann 
ship Mentor 
brig Antrim 
brig Emma 
sch'r Betsey 

h. RalphNickerson 

loop — 

sloop Earl Camden 
brig Elizabeth 
brig Watson 
brig Mariner 

chr — 

ship Grotius 
brig Jane Gordon 10 
sch'r Hunter 
sch'r Susan 
sch'r Vigilant 
brig Maria 
sch'r Falcon 
brig Jane 
dloop Little Phoenix 



1 75 frig.Cons titutionf New- York 
I Grand Turk wrecked 

! America burnt 
do. do. 

do. made a cartel 

:ji do. ! do. 

Rev Cut. Jeflfer'u Norfolk 
Custom House "Eastport 
N. Y Militia :St. Vincents 
brig Vixenf 
TeaztT 
Buskin 
Paul Jones 
Nancy 
20 Matilda 
Wiley Reynard 
Wasp 
Essexf 
United we stan( 
Decatur 



16 



15 



20 



do. 
Marengo 
Industry 
Revenge 
Saucy Jack 
Gon. Washiugtoi 
Benj. Franklin 
Revenge 
Retaliation 
Growler 
Jack's Favorite 
do. 

Holkar 
18 .^. Prisoners 
America 
Ontario 
Yankee 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Saucy Jack 
Frolic 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
F. Presidenlf 
do. 
Cordelia 
do. 



New- York 

Machias 

Salem 

>forfolk 

Portland 

Philadelphia 

Portland 

Charleston 

Boston 

Newport 

Poriland 

do. 
New York 
Maiblehead 
Salem 
Charleston 

do. 

do. 
Portland 
New-York 
Salem 
New Orleans 

do. 
Newport 
Campeachy 
Salem 

Sackel'sHarbor 
France 

do. 

do. 

do. 
given up 
Salem 
burnt 
made a cartel 

do. 
ransomed 
France 
do. 
burnt 
do. 



462 



APPENDIX. 



1585 


sloop Fame 


1586 


sloop Chance 


1687 


sch'r Deep Nine 


1588 


sloop Watt 


1589 


si. Charming Eliza 


1590 


sloop Jamaica 


1591 


sch'r Phoenix 


1592 


brig Marquis 


1593 


brig Concord 


1594 


sch'r — 


1595 


Tenders 


1596 


ship Barclay 


J597 


ship Ashum 


1598 


brig Trident 


1599 


brig Haddock 


1600 


sch'r Columbia 


1601 


brig Fire Fly 


1602 


brig Mary 


160 J 


sch'r Eliza 


1604 


brig Argo 


1605 


brig- 


1606 


trans. Lord Keith 


1607 


brig Penguin* 



' Cordelia 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Yankee 
Rattlesnake 
F. Essexf 
Virginia Militia 
F. Essexf 
T.Blood Yankee 
Scourge 
do. 
Portsmou th 
Sabiae 
Argo 
Portsmouth 
Surprize 
Grampus 
Mars 
22 182 Hornetf 



Total, gum 3083.-— U 797 men. 



burnt 

do. 
made a cartel 

do. 
unk 

do. 
made a cartel 
NewBedford 
Norway 
sunk 
Norfolk 
Peru 
France 
burnt 

do. 
Newburyport 
Wilmington 
burnt 
Machias 
Portland 

do. 
Newport 
sunk 




APPE^^IX. 460 

BIDDLE'S VICTORY. 

Copy of a Letter from Captain Biddle to Commodore Decatur, datetl 
V. Slates' Sloop Hornet, off Trislan'd Acunha, March 25, 1815. 

SIR — I have the honor to inform, that on the morning of the 23d 
inst at half past ten, when about to anchor, off the north end of the 
island of Tristan'd Acunha, a sail was seen to the southward and east- 
ward, steering to the westward, the wind fresh from the S. S. W. In 
a few minutes she had passed on to the westward so that we could not 
see her for the land. I immediately made sail to the westward, and 
shortly after getting sight of her again, perceived her to bear up before 
the wind. I hove too for him to come down to us. — When she had ap- 
{iroached near, I filled the maintopsail, and continued to yaw the ship, 
while she continued to come down ; wearing occasionally to prevent her 
passing under our stern. At 1 40 P. M. being nearly within muskef 
shot distance, she hauled her wind on the starboard tack, hoisted Eng- 
lish colors, and tired a gun. We immediately luffed too, hoisted our 
ensign and gave the enemy a broadside. The action being thus com- 
menced, a quick and well directed fire was kept up from this ship, the 
enemy gradually drifting nearer to us, when at ih 55m, he bore up, ap- 
parently to run us on board. As soon as I perceived he would certainly 
fall on board, I calli;d the boarders so as to be ready to repel any attempt 
to boar(' us. At the instant every officer and man repairwl to the 
quarter deck, where the two vessels were coming in contact, and eager- 
ly pressed me to permit them to board the enemy : but this I would not 
permit, as it was evident from the commencement of the action that our 
fire was greatly superior both in quickness and in effect. The enemy's 
bowsprit came in between our main and mizen rigging, on our starboard 
side, affording him an opportunity to board us, if such was his design, 
but no attempt was made. There was a considerable swell on, and as 
the sea lifted us ahead, the enemy's bowsprit carried away our mizen 
shrouds, stern davits and spanker boom, and he hung upon our larboard 
quarter. At this moment an oiBcer, who was afterwards recognize*' to 
be Mr. M'Donold, the first lieutenant, and the then commanding officcT^ 
called out that they had surrendered. I directed the marines and mus- 
ketry men to cease firing, and, while on the taffrail asking if tbcy had 
surrendered, I received a wountl in the neck. The enemy just then 
got clear of us, and his foremast and bowsprit being both gone, and per- 
ceiving us wearing to give him a fresh broadside, he again' called out 
that he had surrendered. It was with difficulty I could restrain my 
crew from firing into him again as he had certainly fired into us after 
having surrendered. From the firing of the first gun, to the last time 
the enemy cried out he bad surrendered, was exactly 22 minutes by the 
watch. She proved to be H. B. M. brig Penguin, mounting sixteen 32 
lb carronades, two long 12's, a twelve lb. carronade on the top gallant 
forecastle, with swivels on the capstrrn and in the tops. She had a 
spare port forward, so as to fight hpfh hfr long guns of a side. .ShesalJ: 



464 APPENDIX. 

ed from England ia September last. She is io all respects, a remark- 
ably fine vessel of ber class. The enemy acknowledge a complement 
of 182 men ; 12 of them supernumerary marines from the Medway 74, 
They acknowledge, also, a loss of 14 killed, and 28 wounded ; but Mr. 
Mayo, who was in charge of the prize, assures me that the number of 
killed was certainly greater. Among the kilied is Captain Dickenson, 
who fell at the close of the action, and the boatswain ; among the woun- 
ded, is the second lieutenant, purser, and two midshipmen. Each of 
the midshipmen lost a leg. Having removed the prisoners, and taken 
on board such provisions and stores as would be useful to us, I scuttled 
the Penguin, this morning before day-light, and she went down. As 
she was completely riddled by our shot, her foremast and bowsprit both 
gone, and her mainmast so crippled as to be incapable of being secured, 
it seemed unadvisable, at this distance from home, to attempt sending 
her to the United States. 

This ship did not receive a single round shot in her bull, nor any ma- 
terial wound in her spars ! the rigging and sails were very much cut ; 
but having bent a new suit of sails and knotted and secured our rigging, 
we are now completely ready, in all respects, for any service. We 
were eight men short of complement, and had nine upon the sick list 
the morning of the action. Enclosed is a list of killed and wounded. 

I have the honor to be, &c. J. BIDDLE. 

AMERICAN LOSS. 

Killed, 1— Wounded, II. 

BRITISH LOSS. 

fiilled, 14.— Wounded, 28. 

noTE—TIie above Viclory was not received in time io be inserted in its 
2»roper pla£«. 




SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 



465 



Hartford 
Freeman Kilbourn 
Abner Jones 
Simeon Anold 
Daniel Phelps 
Elizur B. Smith 
Cyrus Woodruff 
Daniel Dewey 
Aaron Roberts 
Josiali HutDjihrey 
Stephen Camp 
Wm. H. Marsh 
Joseph Cburch 
Thas. P S wafer 
Joseph Z7urice 
Henry Perkins 
George i?eckwith 
Whilin- Clark 
James Keep 
Charles Benjamin 
Horace Z?elden 
Theodore S. Z?enton 
Henry Dwier 
John Gains 
(ieorge Larkum 
Diodate Taylor 
I'jiijah Treadway, jr. 
John May 
Wm. Gleason 
fsrael Shepard 
i-'recnian Shepard 
Chauncry AVaters 
Nathaniel Patten 
Daniel Bicknell 
Antlross &c Deming 
Vlli^ha Siiepard 



Levi Clark 
Adna North 
Aphek Woodruff 
Kufel C. I7ane 
L>an. DemtDg 
Jennus Lewis 
Preserved Marshal 
Samuel Tiilotson 
isahel Hart 
-Miles Lee 
■Seth Wadsworth 
L/aniel Clark 
Sidney Hart 

Southington 
\bel Carter 
Inson Mathews 
Innna .indrus 
Michael Kugg 

SoiUhtvick 
Wait Easton 

U'esl Harlford 
illen Whiting, 2d. 
Charles Church 
Chester 
Samuel Sanderson 
/abez Law 

Kaal-Hartfrtrd 
Joel WadftWortli 
U Williams 
John Abby 
./ared Shepard 
George Rich 
Benjamin Culver 
Warren Millard 
Abel Clark 
Socrales Zlalcan 



Benjamin J. BoardmanlGeorge W. Gilbroon 



John Millard 
Josfah Hempsted, jr. 
.iValban Dike man 
Varmins^toti 
yii Todd 
Nodiah Hooker 
damuel Dickenson 
Frederick Audrus 
5saac Buck 
Nodiah Woodruff 
Vtisusfiis Bodwell 
Ab.l Woodruff 
-Merrin Clark 



Timothy M Namon 
/obn Ripley 
Samuel Johnson 
'Viiliam Taber 
r'eftr Brown 
Haniel Edwards 
isher I/»vight 

Granville 
/■iiah Hotch 
Silvester Spelman 
Juel Root 



Blanford 
Oharles Cliurch 
r>liver W Slucum 
Timothy S. Hatch 
i'lson Collins 
Jasper .flooth 

Lee (Mass) 
Erastus Foot 
jOAniel Foot 
Bartholomew Bulkier 
Daniel Williams 
hiiJfUld 
Salmon Eusign 
Horace Hosmer 
Christopher Jones 
I'hodrab Trumbull 
Samue-I Eldridgc 
Oliver Rising 
izel F. Kenr 
Zlfred Sikes 
Luther Lewis 
Oliver Sheldon 
ifuthony Gabriel 
Thomas .Austin jr. 
Ichabod Smith jr. 
Elisha Gunn 
ledediah Gere 
Zcbulon .fZdaras 
rhadeus Sikes 

Stamford 
\athan Hill 

Norwich 
Asa Mann 

MonlviHe 
George Fox 
1 Lff)arion 

Isaiah Loo mis 
John Haywood 
Isaiah Looniil 3d 
H'est SprtNgHeld (Ms^ 
Roswell Leonard 
Harvey .3dams 
Sirijamin Leonard 
Thadeus Leonard 
Jesse Mfc'Intire 
ISrastus Jonelon 
IflTred Flower 
lilijali Porter 
'Seih Norton jr. 



50 



A6G 



SUBSCRIBEBS NAMES. 



Granhy 
Horace Hinsdale 
Zacheus Hays 
Hebron 
John H JFells 
Daniel Brown 
*3in()s Phelps 
Elihu Wright 
jJuson Gillet 
Henry Saunders 
John Payne 
Samuel Skinner 
Clarke Elliot 
William^ Sumner 

Colchester 
Ralph Clark 
John Holmes 
Frederick Daniels 
Washington 
Dotha W addam 
Daniel Clark 
Samuel Levitt 

Mansfield 
Dildc\<l Williams 

Windsor 
fTilliam Welch 
Hezekiah H. Palmer 
/f',race Palmer 
Charlotte Griswold 
Ebenezer Hickpj^ 
Bi'ijamin Griswold 
Eliri'kim Marshall 
Cyrus Phelps 
John Latham 
Martin ffi)!comb 
Isaac Griswold 

East Windsor 
Jonah Bissell 

Berlin 
Seth Lewis 
Otis Robinson 
John R. Sargeant 

Simshury 
^sa Hoskins 
Thomas Z?f>nton— 3 
Satnuel Reed 
Til us father 
Oliver Phelps 
Jonathan Pottibone 



\'en'-Mnl borough ('Ma^j.Ri chard Coil 



>;Hthaniel Spa;ildi/(g 

MaUiorough 
Kdwarii Root 
/ iines Duvant Esq. 

Plymouth 
"ViJHh «ill 

Providence (R I ) 
> miel Kandal 

New Hartford 
iilton /^arnay 
Goslien 
*'iineas Miner 
J.ivid Lucas 
^ ephen Hadley 
iiles Hills 
tnses Wadham 
{•Am Buel 
S/>!Tiuel Chapin 
T.M'ry Burtch 
firam Norton 
arleton Humphrey 
Cornivall 
vunuel Sterling 
• ilmon Thomson 
<>t Hart 
Samuel P. Johnson 
Jiiver Ford 
'feman Cole 
' uiiah Ho I ley 
■hny Skiff 
>iinoch Peck 
Gamalid Everett 
Canaan 
./<?remiah Hosford 
Susanna Beebe 
Charles Belden jr. 
lisnac Beebe 
7 hn Fonsley 
./ <i'athan Kelden 
ijor<'miah Husford jr. 
jffarry Holcomb 
'Job Barnes jr. 
/.tbcz J::ckway 
Simeon Pahner 
Joel Booth 
indrew Coffin 
/fremiah Palmer 
Winchester 
Drake Mills 



GriJineli Sp*;ncer 
Martha Thayer 
^^bial Lo >mis 
Trunuta S. Wetmore 
George Jarvis 
Clark Taylor 
David .^Zudrus 
John Wetmore 2d 
Ichabod Loomis 
^mos Piatt 
John Merrill 

Torrington 
Stephen Tyler 
Elisha Rowley 
i^hilip frolcott 
Jbijah Osboro 
Sheffield 
Silas Barnes 
Frederick J Brown 
Jonathan Hubbard 

FittsJield(Mass) 
John Case 
Moses .Jllen 

Canton 
Norman Dyer 

S alikbnry 
/ohn JSissell 
Lemon Heacock 
Hubbanl Peck 
Gilbert Brown 
M«)idalen King 
/^enajah Camp 
James Harris 
Isaac Barilett 
f^'iliiarri Cain 
Isaac Fosbnry 
Barnabas Freeman 

Canadaiqua (iS . Y.J 
rfamuel Hart 
Abraham H. Bennel' 
Philip J. Mo',vs 
Win Kctr.hum 
John B N orris 
Samuel Davis 
lAndrew Slewcst 
Elisha C. Wright 
Enoch Foht's 
Dyer B. Draper 



SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 



467 



Gideon Cande 
Peter Barriiiger 
Beiij-iiiiin Morris 
Charles Gage 
OtiinialJ. \V. Taylor 
Wm H. Ackley 
Joel E. Mory 
David Chisbrou 
James Gettey 
John M. Sa^vyer 
Wiliard Flint 
Zo[ihu Beach 
Luinan Brown 
Gilbert Christee 
Mc McNair 
Michael J Souhoer 
Alfred Kennedy 
Noah Gates 
W. P Groesbeck 
Solomon Riggs 
M. Abbro 
Joseph Gjuld 
Wm R Waldron 
P. B Uuderhill 
Simon Hall 
Lambert Barnum 
Daniel Learned 
Miihael Sprague 
Z. &cS Larnards 
Abel Barnes 
Levi Smith 
Isaac Morse 
George Cieaveland 
Lotus Andrews 
John Ervvin 
Gideon Civefiss 
Hugh Canigan 
John Wads worth 
John C. McNair 
Abner Bunnel 
Birdsey Woodruff 
Ficlor (N. Y.) 
Rufus Dryer 
Reuben Brace 
Samuel Giilis 
John Jacobs 
Ezekiel Schuddor 
Lyman Turner 
Patrick Scollen 
Paul S. Richardson 



Asahel .Moore 
Isaac Scudder 
Asa Hickox 
Joseph Row lew 
J. B Blannot 
Calvin Green 
Anthony VVoodruff 
Jeremiah Hull 
Jacomiah Merrill 
Aaron Crankite 
J M Hughs 
Solomon Turner 
Nath. O. Dickenson 
Sophia B. Brace 
Samuel Kawson 
John Arn dd 
Uaac Marsh 
Samuel Johnson 
Peter C. Lane 
^Vm. Bushnell 
•^2lisha Smith 
Ju!^eph S Hull 
i4<irry fiiment 
Sujjiien I ranklin 
i inathan E. Marsh 
ienry Pars-^ns 
Daniel Cuper 
'>I;itti)evv Ogden 
■.'iiurnas Dodd 
I >lin Pliss 
):iniel BuCTam 
H'lh Berry 
I )hn Porter 

a Lusk 
l-.aac Morse 
Vmbrose P. Fox 
iaron Birdsall 
lohn Clime 
loseph Lane 

Palmira, (X. Y.) 
iienry Wood 
\Vhip|)le Sfruter 
James F. Smith 
George Barkcorth 
■jiias Shirbliff 
•iamuel Horton 
Wm. P Wilson 
I >hn Milli.ian 
■5 >lomon Jjce 
Silas Hurlburt 



David S. Jack way 
Seymour Scovell 
lohn Dowling 
Samuel Simmons 

be2 Blackmor 
Abraham Spear 
^oseph Tinkham 
vVebb Haswood 

iiilander Packard 
S'm. Bennett 
i^aac Smith 
isa Smith 
i jrace N Warren 

laei J Kictiardson 
jilisha Cobb 
David Warren 
^Vin. W. daswGod 
vbiier Hill 

aac Beach 
Iremiah Irons 
iDuis \ndrU60 
Luke Holbrook 
Elihu Rovvsou 
riiomas Fast 
Joshua Bridge 
Jrtmes Benjamin 
)a(iiel M Bristol 
Levi Leach 
Levi Sargeant 
I'artemeus Packard 
George Hopkins 
Andrew Low 
Job W. Jafift 
Wm. Rogers 
Jonah Howell 
George W Stoddar 
Isaac S. Richmond 
Peter Foster 
G^orge Tucker 
\. A Tyler 
\mos H. Reed 
Wm McLean 
\l)ner Cole 
Joshua S. Terry 
Fred*;rick Smith 
Ira Selby. 
Ezra Shepardson 
Ara Camfield 
Thos. StimsoB 
Henry Yale 



408 



SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 



Isaac Ande 
Levi Thayer 
Peter Bower 
Isaac Aldrich 
Jeduthan Tucker 
Henry Pairsel 
Wing WalkcT 
John Longly 

Farminglon, N. Y. 
Stephen Howard 
Robert Power 
Arthur Power 
Sylvester R. Hathewa\ 
John Lopham 
Junis Cronkite 
HiJg!'s E. Fuller 
Asa Smith 
Jeremiah Whitney 
Isa;ic Carr 
Wm. Mason 
Truman Heminway 
Abel Harrington 
Jacob Eddy 
fcjaiuuel Cooper 
Francis Moore 
Israel Pattison 
George McCrumb 
Peter Brown 
Stephen Skellinger 
Josiah Crosman, jr. 
Joseph Watson 
Nathan Barlow 
Berjarain B. Brown 
Ricli?rd Dillon 
Nicholas Chrisban 
Benjamin Throop 
John D. Hoskius 
Ash Thomas 
Hezekiah Luther 
Reuben Buck 
Addison Buck 
Dariel Smith 
John Averill 
James Henry 
Gid'=:on Roys 
Shubat'l Clark 
Garmer Elsworth 
John Hart 
Davit Botsford 
Abial Tripp 



Moses Vanflret 
Frederick Payne 
Calvin Bacon 
Orrin Upson 
Audrus Stanley 
Jesse Rayner 
Benjamin Depree, jr. 
Saraiiel Janes 
Eseck Brown 
Blias Dennis 
Robert Hannass 
John S Duster, jr. 
John Greanold 
Selah Bepd 

BloomfifldN Y. 
Abraham Beach 
David jBassfctt 
Samuel Howard 
John \ViIkins 
Edward Sawyer 
Glias Loof vjrongh 
James Pastnelo 
James Merrill 
Zenas B. Dryer 
Michael Brookes 
Moses Cleaveland 
William Ketchum 
Eiihu Younglove 
iJames Root 
Oliver Chapins 
Philo Taylor 
George j^aker 
.7sa Johnson 
Josiah S. JJaldwin 
Randolph W. Hall 
Eben Kellogg 
Jonathan Hawley 
Clark Sanford 
John C'lossan 
Nathaniel Dupper 
Asa Smith 
J hn Peters 
J &c T.Jones 
7 )hn J. Keyes 
Ephraim Wethcrill 
Harvey Roberts 
Ralph Wilcox 
Ed'Aard W Rose 
filbert Toras 
Cynthia Saxton 



! Elisha E^lestoi^ 
Amos Avetj 
Peter Putnam 
Joseph Miner 
viaron R Passon 
Nathaniel Shcpard 
Williim H. Baker 
Piiilemon Yale 
Whiting Mann 
John Lee 

/(ifugusius Hotchkiss 
Cla7k Peck 
Ihacx Merrill 
George Viols 
George C. Nichols 
Brooks Chad wick 
William Lre, jr. 
Henry Amorin 
b>astus Hunt 
Ebetiezer Brigham 
L( man Critendou 
Stephen Hurlburt 
Pearley H Phillips 
Abraham Flint 
Frederick Ross 
S.tmuel Tupper 
Frederick Pennoyer 
\bner Alms 
Lf arcus Eddy 
Oliver Humphrey 
Mordecai Wilson 
John Coalbroth 
George A. Adams 
Joshua Preston 

Ulica, N. Y. 
James Rogen 
Wm. Hitchcock 
Timothy Allen 
John Crane 

WiUinnison, .V. H 
Eliakum Brown 
\lpheus Curtis 
James J. Seely 
Sarel Bonnet 
Nathan Williams 
Kpliraim Pierce 
irtemus Easlabrook 
fiUther Bristol 
■Jieorge W. Hatch 
\ndrew CornweM 



SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 



469 



Hawley Reed 
Ainos Gage 
Thomas Foster 
IMoses Sealy 
Epliraiin Lincoln 
Russell Coles 
Samuel Throop 
Eleazur Stocking 
J. W. Hallet 
Win. L. Grandin 
Abraham Pepper 
Richard Svvf.et 
Henry Tinklepach 
Alexander White 
Elisha Wood 
David Fish 
Jahiel Parks 

li'illiamsien^n 
Eli Paine 
Thos. Jones 
John Foote 
WedBloomfuld, N. Y 
Moses Baldwin 
John Putnam 
Preserved Hall 
Jonathan Chase, jr. 
Wm. Clark 
David Parsons 
Ralph Leavensworth 
Ira Webb 
Michael Siuger 

Lima, N. Y. 
Stephen Tinker 
La/arus Church 
Thaddeus Ward 
Francis Saunders 
Matthew Warner 
Isaac Farvar 
E. Belden 
Horace Hand 
Wm. Wallace 
Peter Olds 
Barton Monroe 
Andeel Abby 
Willard Humphrey 
Dan Baican 
Zetotus Hovey 
Cch. Morgan 
Math aw Ma win 
■^lanson Brown 



Gideon Thayer 
Anna Stevens 
Wni. Bond 
Calvin Wilcox 
Pary Case 
Elisha F. Davies 
Polly Pasthhunt 
Parker Buel 
lohn Sci ambling 
John Buiieil 
Wm. Bacon 
Frances Smith 
Asahel Warner 
Ezekiel Fox 
Cdlvin Perrin 

Slockbridge, Mass. 
Samuel Dryen 
J >seph W. Marsh 
John Dresser 
Charles Bardwell 
Calvin Blood 
Jnhn Wallsworth 
Daniel Talcott 
Piiilo Carter 
Barlow Rowe 
Truman Dewey 
Patrick Hauilicton 
Samuel Bacon 
Franklin C. Cook 
Lyons, N Y. 
rruman Hawley 
Richard Beard 
Samuel Trowbridge 
Asa Shattuck 
Josiah Cartrete 
John D. Gufchel 
Charles Hatch 
John Wadley 
Samuel Andrus 
Rlisha C. Wright 
Solomon Kelsey 
Robert York 
Richard Manchester 
Samuel Davis 
Joseph D. Dennis 
Lawrence Barkley 
Andrew C. Hull 
David W. Ferine 
Peter D. Dunham 
Amanda Roys 



Philander Mitchell 
Robert W. Ashley 
Sc'muel R sseter 
Euiauue! Ketlle 
Ezid Jewet 
LViijamiu Price 
flloses B fJurlbut 
Benjamin Everitt 
Jane Gilvon 
Sajijuel Tr'Avbridge 
iJacob M. Gibbert 
Elic^s Hull 
Daniel Dorsey 
Wm. Walling 
Jo.seph Ellis 
I fesse B(ard 
|Wm Fulton 
Cornelia Kurkendall 

.dvon, N. Y. 
Vorioan Daveson 
Caleb Cole 
Allen Culver 
John Sparling 
chabod Rogers 
John Barlow 
Wm. Allen 

Mtndon, N. Y. 
Chauncey Roberts 
John J Wilcox 
Jamrs Thayer 
Daniel Gilson 
Jacob Youngs 
Joel Roberts 
Wm. Sanford 
lames Clark 
Guy Shaw 
Ezra Smith 
Henry Courtier 
Obadiah Force 
Abram Spear 
Nathan Ormsby 
Charles Moore 
Thos. Lovland 
Asahel Rowell 
Luther Adams 
Henry Josljn 
Robert Dayen 
E'isha F(»ot 
Cyrus "Webster 
Nathan Brvar. 



470 



SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 



Samuel Lane 
Samuel Stimson 
Ephraim Novness 
Joliu Lowell 
Henry Cogswell 
John Keep 

neiiton,N. Y. 
Giles Norton — 2 
Charles Cahovin 
SaiHuol Skerritt 
James E. Grady 
Reuben Hart 
Harris Seymour 
Rufus Hathaway 
Cyrus West 
Alden Smith 
Thos Desbrow 
Horatio Crane 

Middlesex, N. Y. 
Thos Saunders 
Joseph M Reaves 
Joseph Woodard 
Isaac Uotchkiss 
John Brookelbank 
John Tilton 
Archibald Armstrong 
Reuben LambertoB 
£. R. Hill 

Garjer M. Anderson 
Paul Clapp 
John Marshal 
James F Penn 
Luther Bartlett 

Ridgrvay, JV. Y. 
James Clement 

Rochester; N. Y. 
Daniel Mack 
J. Kenepshall 
Robert Bissell 
Russell A. Dickinson 
Leonard C. Morgan 

Bolton 
Chauncey Wakefield 
Noah Strong 

Gorliam, N Y. 
Jonathan tlawks 
Philip Hind 
Seth Staniey 
Wm Nichols 
Tchabocl Bristol 



[Jasper Shepard 
Zebbeus L. Knapp 
Stephen Payne 
Caleb Rathbun 
Wm. Cleaveland 
George Brundage 
James Moor 
Jeremiah Brown 
Edward Keith 
Er.istus Handy 
Elias Depu 
John S. Rowley 
Joseph Gibbert 
David Knapp 
Mary Benham 
Ezekiel Sampson 
iJouathan Harwood 
Sparla, N. Y. 
Wm. D. McNair 

Honeyjoy, N. Y. 
Nathaniel Allen 
Jasaill Farr 

Buffalo, N. Y. 
Oliver Coit 

Genesee, N. Y. 
Horatio Jones, jr. 

Livona, N. Y. 
George Pulmen 
I Fhelps, N. Y. 
George Grimes 
Peleg Wilbur 
John Hewes 
Henry Wilson 
Daniel Hall 
Peleg Norris 
Wm. H Woodward 
Henry Rowley 
Willson Coggshall 
Peter Holaday 
[Benjamin J. Hicox 
Francis Read 
Hi>sea Marsh 
John Sickles 
John S. i>ay 
Stephen Hall 
James Pullea 
Hiram Luce 
Wm. /iickinson 
Oliver Inearth 
Samuel Baldwin 



IDaniel Miller 
'Wm. Peer 
\(iam Vauduren 
Fredus Granger 

8 Jonathan Clark 
„Mary Westfall 
Sally Voorliies 
Henry Jowar 
Adam Learn 
Hugh Brown 
Samuel Durui 
Nathaniel Kinyoii 
George Zimmerman 
Asahel Banister 
John Warner 
Eleazer Hawks 
Jacob Cooper Jr. 
James Sober 
Joel Thayer 
\lpheus Lang 
Peter Westfali 
John Smock 
lames McDowel 
Thomas Hutchings 
David Vanauken 
John Vanauken 
lanna B. Lewis 
Biron Woodhull 
Solomon Walker 
Levi Ostrander 
\sa Dinsmore 
Henry West 

[Joshua McKinsIey 
William Melton 
Hfczekiah Seager 
\rthur Fairbrother 

Samuel Johnson 
Wm Bartlet 

Geneva. (N. Y.J 

George Matham 

William Wickoff 

James Hays 

Samuel Provast 

William Watson 

Baseley Baker 

Milo Taylor 

Roger Hogarth 

Jacob B. Hall 

A-utville W. Walrath 

Israel CritbudcD 



SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 



471 



Joseph Throckmarfon 

Caimllns (N. Y) 
Henry Bedfield 

Seneca (J\ Y.) 
John M. Cobb 
Henry Moore 
James Cully 
Sally McCary 
Ct^ester H Benton 
Elijah Wilder 
Solomon Gates 
Joel Whitney 
Nathan Whitney 
EleRZur F. Gleason 
Stephen Taylor 
Ziichard Anthony 
Joseph Brunday 
John E Sty 
Daniel Colwell 
Crosby Maxwell 
Nine Starr 

Naples (N. Y.) 
Ebenezer L Boon 

Sodus,(N.Y ) 
David Bray ton 
Thomas Wheeler 
Ira Shelley 
Seba Norton jr. 
John Blanchard 
Seba Norton 
Stephen Bushnel! 
Joel I>nolittle 
Alva Hill 
Sarah Eadus 
John Briggs 
Benjamin Morrow 
Bennet Farr 
Henry Pitcher 
Mary Axtill 
Braddic Davis 
Henry Siccum 
Thadeus Bancraft 
Henry D. Chapman 
Galaslu Harrington 
Charles Morgan 
Wm. Cory 
Samuel Hall 
Elijah Holcomb 
Enoch Morse 
-^enks Crillon 



I Peter Riggs 
\Nu\. Delano 
Lonson Cora 
Teor2;e Sar^eants 
Stephen Johnson 
//aron Corey 
Moses A. filakeley 
Lyman /Running 
Juhn Wilson 
fti)bert A Paddock 
()tis Hay ward 

Maxnclt (N Y.J 
Wm. N Lummis 
Wm D. Erwin 
Thomas Wafer 
Epiiraim Coon 

Brisfol, (N. Y.J 
Oaniel Do(.\ge 

Chicwalws fj\. Y J 
Asahel Widy 

Ontario fN.Y J 
\bel Wolcott 
fames Buckley 
Ira Howard 
Oaniel Ethridg 
Reuben Randolph 
Lot Stone 
Wavid JL^alrymple 
Thomas Powers 
Wm. Barnhart 
Daniel Lyon 
Benja Thobbins 
Miles Smith 
LulherFilumre 
Alfre<l Fown 
\nn Padley 
Piiebr Dennison 
Christian Barnhart 
JelTery Gaidner 
Ebenezer Reed 
David Chamberlain 
Daniel Inman 
John Randolph 
Samuel Sahin 
Walter Waters 
Stephen C'tace . 

Murray, (N. Y J 
Isaac Leach 
Peter IMiiler 
Ncah Ramsdell 



Robert Campbell 
Varon Birdsall 

Waterloivn 
rancis Bancroft 
ichard Fiisbie 
a:iiuel Hill 
.^bner Brown 
>'m. Comes 
alvin Hotchkiss 
f^/arius Hicox 
xiah G. Baldwin 
Samuel J. Holmef) 
iohn Smith 
Jharles Leonard 
Siiiis Pardy 
James Jones, jr. 
\,ustin Steele — 10 
itichard B. Harrison 
Iohn S. Tuttle 
Edward Nichols 
VrSxir Morris 
Samuel Pinch 
Wm C. Shannon 
Clark Bunnell 
Statira Benham 
Polly M. Merrel! 
Olive Olds 
-Samuel Root 
Jesse Porter 
Zelah Jariel 
,/ames Brown 
Vndrew Bryan 
f/ai ris Bronson 
Daniel Steele jr 
Heman Payne 
Thomasj G. Mur' 
Daniel Welton 
Wm Covrcs 
Daniel Steele 
Zenas Cooke 
Anion Sherry jr, 
Joel Scott 
Benjamin JarreU 
Cheshire 
Thomas Benham 
Philo Mie 
Amos Hall 
Jesse •Steele 
Leveret Bradley 
Benjauiin Spcrry 



472 



SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 



Wrn. Johnson 
Jac )b Ri)binsoa 
Gneu Smith 
Samuel Duraiuljr. 
John Dayton 
Phiiieas Atu'ater 
Isaac R. W lirooks 
Win Peck 
Auimiel Lewis 
Darling H.Byington 
John Potter 
Silas Gay lord 
Salem 
Wm. Hoadley jr. 

Felersham Mass. 
Lucius Spooner 

Meriden 
Solomon Flagg 
Norlhford 
Dennis Talrnage 

Vernon 
Flavel C Kins:;sbury 

Woodhridge 
Asacl Jiukl 
Isaac Hofchkiss jr. 
Phineas Hitchcock 
Ancon Perkins 
James Perkins 

New Haven 
Joseph Steele 2d 
liird-^ey Judson 
John J. Hallard 
Rnkard B. Mallory 
Caleb Gtjines 
Alexander ]M. Henry 
J ihn Stewart 
Hugh Lar2;en 
Wm. Haryhill 
Stephen Deekman 
Caleb Hofchkiss 
Henry F Osborn 
James S;)» rney 

Pills/brd /v. 1'. 
James Cowego 
Jacol) F. Pester 
Ileman BicKvell 
John F L)of borough 
John Hunt jr. 
Na;!)an Nye 
("ladius Bou^hton 



Henry Bailey 
Win. Griffin 
Lyman .Wilier 
Phineas King 
[John Gof dwin 
John Osboru 
Robert Horn 
Caleb Nye 
Joseph Bradish 
Isaac Sto" 
Anthony L Brings 
Wm. Taylor 
Silas W Newcomb 
Jonathan Perin 
Nathan Davis 
Major H. Smith 
James Gallagher 
Samuel Fett 
George Law 
Thomas Mattson 
Alfred Doul 
Tames Merrill 
Henry Paddock 
Aaron Brighton 
Phineas Hil! 
Win. M Kinsley 
Samuel Perin 
iS^athaniel Marsha! 
Tames Gallop 
ra Blodget 
Luther Ludden 
Isaac Dimond 
Tonah D. Simons 
lames Stodard 
Isaac Robinson 
Luther Darrel jr. 
lohn Acre 

Luther CChamberlaii 
Samuel Sonbury 
Hazard K Tinker 
Sf (h Turrell 
Varon L'lsk 
Hiram Cady 
Oavid Acre 
Jolm Ray 
Vriel Newcomb 
loel Robert 
Satiian A. Caliioon 
">a;nu?l Tillotson 
Danici M. Rood 



yOaniel Marble 

Gates A'. Y. 
Hamlet Swantom 
Elijah Darrow 

Gtfnoa N. Y. 
John Obert 

FenfteldN. Y. 
James Spear 
Henry J. Shermans 
J. B. Bryan 
Gershom Daineam 
Reuben Duleher 
Sylvester Rellogg 
Ebenezer Cook 
John Amsden 
Ezra Kapp 
[Jabez Matthews jr. 
|Samue! Thomson 
Joseph Hatch 
Elizabeth Sears 
Stephen Warren 
Brighton N. 5 
Aaron Parker 
Otis \Valker 
Ralph Malbone 
John Lucas 
Daniel Tinker 
Joim Gorton 
Francis Postal 
Simon Stone — ■i- 
Orange Stone 
Alva Stone 
Aaron Brown 
John Warimman 
Kellogg Vosburgh 
iEbenezar Mcrwii* 
Oliver Culver 
I Gideon Cobb 
Caleb Batch 
Henry Miller 
Jonathan Ilussel' 
Auna Ross 
Joel Scutlder 
Joseph Colwell 

Paringlon A". 1 
Slizur Lusk 
Gbenrzur Stone 
\sa Gay jr 
Uvi Treaihvell 
Joshua C. Eaton 



' '-Oi/V 



